Retroactive
by Loopy777
Summary: Azula and Suki share a secret that neither one ever dreamed was possible. When the secret comes to light, an epic tale unfurls featuring action, intrigue, psychological horror, and the final destruction of our heroines. Based on an idea by Lavanya Six. Now featuring the first half of the explosive finale!
1. Prologue

**Prologue - The Invisible One**

It started with nightmares that woke her up screaming, but then, these kind of things often do.

The first few times, Suki just brushed it off and got on with her life. So she had nightmares. Lots of people who fought in the war had similar problems. She could deal with it. She was a strong person. The Kyoshi Warriors wouldn't have tolerated her leadership if she wasn't. But when the nightmares didn't abate, no matter what amateur remedies she tried, Suki thought that talking about it might help. She had become fast friends with Ty Lee, really finding something comforting about the bubbly girl from the Fire Nation, and the act of talking about her problems felt strangely good. Almost novel.

"In my dreams, I'm a very dark cell."

Ty Lee nodded. "The Boiling Rock." She sat next to Suki on the steps of the town hall, where they could look down the sloping hill of Kyoshi Island's coast, out over the fishing bay.

"Yeah, it must be," Suki said. She hadn't really thought about it before, but that sounded plausible. "There's no windows in my cell, and it's made of stone."

Ty Lee blinked her light gray eyes. "Stone? I thought the Boiling Rock's facilities were made of metal."

"Metal?"

"Sure, don't you remember? The metal prison is on top of the rock island in the middle of the caldera." Ty Lee gave Suki a curious look. "Maybe you're mixing the two in your dream. You know, it's like symbolic, like dreaming of a butterfly."

Suki frowned. "Butterflies are symbolic? Well, never mind that. Maybe it was a metal cell. It's just a dream." She got her thoughts back on track before continuing. "Anyway, it's dark in the cell. I'm strapped down in a chair."

Ty Lee nodded. "They have those at the Boiling Rock. Zuko was in one when he was brought out for Mai to see. Remember? He told us about that?"

Suki shrugged, and continued. "In my dreams, Azula comes out of the darkness. There's no light source, but I can see every detail of her uniform. Her face. She's... she stares at me. Her face is awful. I don't even know how I know it so well, but I can _tell _what it means. That looks she gives is just pure hatred. I can see in her eyes that she wants to hurt me."

Ty Lee said nothing.

Suki said the next part slowly. She had trouble putting it all into words, and just remembering this part of the dream set her on edge, like she was trying to make herself step off a cliff. "I can tell that she doesn't want to kill me. I don't know how, but I'm sure of it. And that's the worst part of it. She starts talking with that taunting tone of hers, and tells me she wants to tear me open. That part always lasts a while, in the dream. She just goes on and on about peeling back my skin, reaching her hand into my chest, pulling my heart out." Suki shivered. "Then, she does. Her hands are on fire."

Ty Lee immediately leaned over and hugged her. Suki sunk into it, wrapping her own arms around her fellow Kyoshi Warrior in turn. Suki had always loved hugs; something about such open, affectionate physical contact really made her feel better. It was like a Waterbender-cooled drink after a long day of working out in the sun.

She couldn't think of the last time she had been hugged. It must have been fairly recent, though. She'd go crazy without hugs.

That brought something else to mind. "I wish Sokka were here."

Ty Lee eased away. "He's really busy," was the first thing she said.

Suki frowned. "_You've _heard from him?"

"No!" Ty Lee giggled. "I wish. Sokka's doing some work for Zuko in the former colonies, and Mai wrote me about it in her last note. Katara and Aang had to go take care of something in the Earth Kingdom, so Sokka's handling the stuff that would get anyone from the Fire Nation more resistance. He's no Avatar, but he's pretty clever with solutions. Zuko is really glad for the help."

"He came all that way from the South Pole again and couldn't stop here," Suki mumbled.

"Well," Ty Lee said as she stood up, casually pulling Suki to her feet as well, "you know how it is when the Fire Lord says to jump."

"Yeah," Suki replied automatically, not really thinking why she was so sure of that. "It's weird, though, in my dreams. Sometimes, even though her fire is blue, Azula's hair is lighter when she jumps at me, kind of red like her uniform."

Ty Lee didn't respond to that.

* * *

The nightmares didn't stop, the weeks that followed. Suki compensated by going to bed a little earlier, so that any interruptions in her sleep wouldn't leave her feeling deprived by morning. Now that the island had opened up its borders, life as a Kyoshi Warrior was busier than ever. Refugees came in small but regular waves, and more merchants and sailors were plying the seas. Most people didn't want to make trouble, but there were always enough shenanigans going on that the Kyoshi Warriors had to maintain readiness. Whenever the call came, Suki would be ready for her girls. Anything less would be less than perfect, and less than perfect was less than acceptable.

That kind of attitude had made her what she was today.

So every night she woke screaming, and every night she pulled herself together and went back to sleep. If only she had some family left, to be there with her in the dark. The memories of their deaths were vague to Suki, but everyone spoke so vividly of the mudslide that she had no problem dredging up the dusty memories.

Then one night she woke up screaming in Sokka's arms.

"Suki! Suki, it's just a dream! Come back to me! Suki!"

She didn't know where she was at first, just as always. She didn't know what he was saying, and only after a few seconds did she recognize the word he kept using as her name. "I'm Suki."

"Yeah," Sokka said. His blue eyes were bright in the moonlight that stabbed through her warped shutters, but darkness ate up the rest of him. "You're Suki." She heard the smile in his voice. "I'm Sokka, in case you were mixing us up."

She laughed. It was a really stupid joke, but it was a Sokka joke, and it was exactly what she needed. "Your name could be Lee for all I care right now. It's _you_." He squeaked at the hug she crushed him with, but soon enough he was squeezing her with every bit as much strength, just like she loved.

She brought a hand up to caress his cheek. "How did you get here?"

He sighed. "I'm taking care of something for Zuko that has me traveling. Ty Lee mentioned you in her latest letter, and I... hm, _arranged _for enough time to make a quick visit. I need to be gone again by noon, though. You know how it goes, always fires to put out. Don't tell anyone, though. I don't want Katara to accuse me of slacking."

Suki finally let go of him, but kept one of his hands in hers as she sunk back to lie down on her bed. "Always fires to put out," she murmured. She smiled in the dark. "Is that why you broke into my house? You thought there was something on fire in here?"

He was silent for a long moment after that. It was just silly to think she really cared about things like that, but it was so like him, so awkward and overly complicated. It was a refreshing contrast to Suki's own way of thinking, a constantly working mind that always narrowed in on the perfect words, the perfect actions. "I heard your screaming," he finally said, "and just wanted to be sure you were okay."

She pulled him down to lie beside her, and snuggled up against him. "Good timing."

They stayed like that until dawn, and no more nightmares plagued her in that darkness.

In the golden morning light that always energized Suki, while they were both dressing for the day, Sokka noticed her newest decoration hanging on the wall. "You _kept _it?"

She nodded, a small smile warming her face. "You're gone so often, it's a nice reminder of everyone. Of you."

"Well," he drawled, a stupid grin growing, "maybe I should sign it for you, if you're such a fan of my art now."

She looked at the painting on her bedroom wall, the one he had made the last time she had seen everyone together, at that gathering at Uncle Iroh's tea shop over a year ago. (Iroh's.) The childish scrawls were as poor in form as they could be while still making up recognizable cartoon figures of all her friends. Zuko with his funny hair, Mai like a grimacing man in a wig. Aang and Katara and Sokka. Toph.

And Suki herself. Firebending. "Yeah, I'm a fan."

**THE BEGINNING**


	2. Partial Misrepresentation

**Partial Misrepresentation**

"I just want to say, before we really begin, that my work was never intended to go down this road."

Dong Min waited for his host to acknowledge that with a nod before continuing. "When I first realized that memories could be deliberately altered though psychological therapy, I thought it would be used to help people. Remove memories that were harmful, or use manufactured memories to lead people away from unhealthy behavior. When your organization first approached me, they claimed to be interested in the same ideas, but of course, we wound up having very different interpretations of what that meant." Here, he indulged in a long sigh. "What you saw as 'corrective behavioral therapy,' I came to realize was a kind of torture. I felt it was wrong. I still feel it was wrong."

Dong Min waited for a reply, but none was forthcoming. Seeing his host's expression, the psychologist shrugged. "I can see the room for legitimate disagreement," he said, "but I truly thought it was wrong. By the time I realized how far astray I had taken my work, I was in too deep to get out. Saying so seemed to help at my trial." He shuffled uncomfortably on his feet "That's not to say that I'm ungrateful for the organization's help. It was only with the additional resources that I was able to develop methods for rewriting various unconscious expressions of identity. The gain to science cannot be ignored."

Dong Min paused here, and sought his guest's gaze. It was important that what he said next would make the proper impression. "However," he continued, "when the Earth King came to me, offering a way to mitigate my sentence and help make up for my past crimes, I jumped at the chance. I didn't realize how guilty it would make me feel. That it would lead back to same dark paths that I had already been led me down before. It wasn't until we were well into the project that I began to have doubts, but what could I do by that point, anyway? And everyone else was so convinced that they were doing the right thing..."

Dong Min paused one more time, took the time to meet his host's gaze, and put all the earnestness he could into his voice. "So, you see, I'm telling you this so that you understand why you won't have to hurt me to get me to help you. I'm not confident that I know the difference between right and wrong anymore. I'll settle for saving my own life. Now, what do you want me to do, exactly?"

* * *

In the dark of the night, Suki looked out from her hiding place in the alley, at the Kyoshi Warriors' latest target. "I've been having a drink at that place every night for the last week," she said. "Figures that the smugglers would pick _this _tavern to operate out of."

The pub in question was built right on the docks in Kyoshi Island's north-side fishing district. This late at night, the docks themselves were quiet, the only movement came from the moored boats bobbing in the water. The tavern, though, had bright light streaming through its windows, and the din of merriment was audible even from Suki's vantage point.

Ty Lee, Suki's partner tonight, turned to look at her with wide eyes. "All week? I didn't know you were becoming a bar-spiderfly. You should have told me, we could have tried it out together."

Suki shook her head. "I wasn't there for fun. I've just been stopping in for a few drinks before bed. To help me sleep." She shifted her gaze back to the tavern. On its roof, a light flickered on and then off again. A Kyoshi Warrior team was on station there. One more team to go.

Ty Lee blinked, the moonlight reflecting off her warm eyes. "I didn't know you were still having trouble," she said. "I thought since Sokka visited..."

Suki sighed. "For a while, yeah, he left me with a reprieve. Didn't last long, though. I haven't heard from him since then. I don't suppose Mai's letters have said anything?"

In the shadows, Ty Lee bit her lip. "Someone dangerous escaped from the Fire Nation," she said finally. "Zuko- oh, _Fire Lord _Zuko- has people searching the world, but he needs his friends to help look in the Earth Kingdom. You know, they're kind of sensitive about hunters from the Fire Nation poking around. I bet Sokka is helping with that."

Suki found herself turning her full attention on her partner. "And they didn't send official word here? We could have sent some Warriors!" Then, a realization struck her. "They didn't want _me _to know, did they?"

Ty Lee went still. "Wh- What do you mean?"

"It's gone on long enough," Suki bit out. "No one ever sends word here about anything. Sokka is kept running around so much that he has no time to visit. When he does, he has to sneak in and out. It isn't hard to pull it all together. No one wants the Kyoshi Warriors involved anymore, and they don't want Sokka seeing _me_." Ty Lee started to speak, but Suki cut her off. "And don't tell me I'm being paranoid. I _hate _it when people call me paranoid."

Ty Lee was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again, there was an unmistakable sadness in her voice. "I was going to say that it's more complicated than that."

Suki stared at her friend in surprise. "Is it because we guarded Zuko during the Yu Dao incident?"

Ty Lee shrugged in her armor. "I... don't think that's really part of it?"

Suki kept her gaze on Ty Lee. Why was she holding back? Technically, Suki could order the other girl to talk in the name of world peace or something, but that would be an abuse of power, and completely dishonorable. Other ways of making Ty Lee talk, tricking her into saying more than she intended, occurred to Suki, but she quickly banished them from her thoughts. It was wrong to even consider such things, and Suki could only assume that they were born of her shock and anger. Taking a series of deep breaths, she forced herself to relax. "All right, I'll take your word for it. I know you just want to do the right thing. Maybe we can talk about it later, figure out what you _can _tell me?"

Ty Lee relaxed her posture, and quickly leaned forward to hug Suki. Their armor clunked as it collided. "I really want to help you. I promise."

Another flicker of light appeared briefly in the darkness around the tavern. "Finally," Suki said. "I'm going to have to speak to the new recruits about dawdling." She resolved to keep the reprimand from being too harsh, though; Suki had been a Kyoshi Warrior for a long time, a period beyond easy memory for her, and sometimes experience was the only effective teacher.

"All right, time for the raid," she continued. "Light our lantern. We'll draw the crowd's attention and cover the main entrance. The others will infiltrate through their assigned openings and seize the goods. While they secure things, we need to keep anyone from getting into the back rooms and trying to destroy the evidence. You're faster than me, so I'm going to depend on you to take point on that."

Ty Lee did as ordered, holding the lantern high so that the other teams could see it, and followed her leader towards the pub's front entrance. "Good plan. Oh, when we talk later, I'll bring some chamomile tea. That should help you sleep."

"Thanks," Suki whispered as they reached their target. Then she kicked open the tavern's door and shouted into the din, "_Nobody move! This is a raid! Warriors are sealing off all the entrances, and all stores will be inspected! Until then, no one is going anywhere._"

Of course, a handful of people immediately jumped up and tried to run past Suki. Despite her sour mood, she used only necessary force to grab the first of them and twist the man down to the ground in a hold. Behind her, Ty Lee took care of the others with a series of heavy jabs to their pressure points. Just another late night on the job.

It was certainly better than dreaming.

* * *

Dong Min considered his host's request, and frowned deeply. "That... well, that goes quite a bit beyond any of my existing systems. I do have enough information to at least build a fairly complete profile, but the system needs to go beyond that. It will... how to put it..." The psychologist motioned meaninglessly in the air as he searched for the words. "It will be a purely superficial facsimile."

"That's all right," the host said. "After all, we'll have access to the original, soon enough. Now, what can you tell me about how we might go about _reversing _the original process?"

* * *

The Kyoshi Warriors searched the tavern with great efficiency, seizing contraband and anything missing the proper tax stamps. The pub's owner was arrested, as well as several people right there at the bar who the man fingered as his suppliers. Suki sent one of her Warriors off to put in apprehension orders for several other names that had been supplied, and the rest of the warriors began clearing the place out.

As she supervised, Suki overheard Ty Lee talking with one of the tavern's patrons, a man with bushy gray hair and eyebrows. "Would it be okay," she was saying, "if I saw your papers? Please?"

"Sure," the man answered. Suki saw him hand a stack of papers to Ty Lee. "Registration for my boat is on top, and after that is the accounting for my cargo for this run. Everything was checked and stamped when I set into the docks. Shame about this place; I was making some good money supplying them with liquor from Ba Sing Se, but the law's the law, am I right?"

Ty Lee nodded as she scanned the documents. "Yup. I mean, sometimes laws are bad and you have to overthrow the country's leader or something in order to keep people from getting hurt, but just breaking the law for money is definitely bad."

Suki resisted the urge to giggle at her friend. She definitely wouldn't be teaching politics at the Fire Nation's Royal Academy for Girls anytime soon.

Ty Lee handed the papers back to the man. "Okay, everything looks good. You can go."

"Thanks," he said, taking the documents back. "Do me a favor, and let your friends know that until I find a new bulk buyer, I'll have plenty of good wine for sale out of my ship. Quality drink, not that grog the fisherman like. Tell 'em to ask for Captain Toru."

"Oh," Ty Lee chirped, "no problem. Thanks for cooperating. Good luck with everything!"

Toru nodded and made his way out of the tavern. Suki watched him go for a moment, then quickly spun and caught Ty Lee's attention. "Watch things here for a minute," she told her partner. "I need to check on something." Without waiting for an acknowledgement, Suki headed outside. She found this Captain Toru ambling towards the section of the docks devoted to cargo ships. Running up to him, she waved for his attention in the night air. "Excuse me, sir, I have one more question for you. You're not in any trouble, I was just hoping you could help me with a separate bit of business."

Toru blinked at her with surprise, then smiled and bowed. "Any way I can help the Kyoshi Warriors, I'm happy to oblige."

Suki smiled back. "I was hoping you'd have some information. I've heard that the Fire Nation is looking for a fugitive, but not anything more than that. As Kyoshi Island is becoming a fairly popular port, I think it's a reasonable security concern to want to know what dangerous people might be making their way across the world, hm?"

Toru's eyebrows went up at that explanation, and a frown twisted his former smile. "I've heard of that," he said finally. "They had Water Tribals searching ports up and down the Earth Kingdom. They're not saying whom they're looking for, exactly, and the talk is that they're worried about some of the rogue Fire Nation elements getting word. Hasn't stopped the rumors, though." The captain looked around the empty docks, then leaned close to Suki and whispered, "The most popular is that the fugitive is a _Royal _Firebender."

Suki's heart went cold, and her breath hitched. When she was finally able to make herself talk, she bowed to Toru and handed him a coin. "Thanks. Let the Kyoshi Warriors know if you hear anything more. Ask for Suki."

She retreated before she got a reply, and wanted to run straight home again, but her sense of responsibility was too great. Ty Lee kept staring at her while she helped finish up at the tavern, and Suki couldn't wait to get her alone and enjoy some calming tea together. She'd need it, if she was going to conquer the nightmares.

Much later, in the dead moments of the night when Suki was unconscious, the Azula of her dreams had a new message: "I'm coming, and you can't keep me away."

* * *

When Dong Min finished his explanation about the de-programming, his host was outright smiling. It wasn't a nice smile at all. "Yes," the host said, "we can do that. We have all the necessary materials right on hand."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Faces, New and Old

WARNING: This chapter contains actions of intimidating and intentionally manipulative violence, of a highly personal nature. There is no sexual content.

**Faces, New and Old**

One morning on Kyoshi Island, a man was gathering sand on the beach. He wore the plain brown clothes of a mainland peasant, but no hat on his head to protect him from the sun. He smiled as he worked, strolling the beach with bare feet, collecting the dry and loose sand by the handful into a bucket. It was a wide bucket, like the island's amateur fisherman used to keep their larger catches alive until the last prudent moment. The man seemed to have no trouble with the bucket's increasing weight as he went along. His thick arms supported it solidly, although his body seemed bowed by some invisible force.

He obviously delighted in the feel of the wind in his long, dark hair.

When his bucket was full, the man ambled his way back to the main paths, taking the road that led towards the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and apartment shacks. The few who saw this thought nothing of it, because many were the locals who helped to support the island's elite protectors. Their family members, especially, liked to support them whenever possible.

* * *

One week prior, two of the Kyoshi Warriors met in the dark early hours of the morning within one of those huts. Ty Lee went straight for the stove and used a pair of spark rocks to set a pot of tea heating. Suki went to the portable makeup cabinet she kept beside her bed, and set out the mixtures that would remove the traditional Kyoshi Warriors' face paints. She made room beside the built-in mirror for her partner, and together they wiped away the visage of their Patron Avatar.

Together, they exposed their true faces.

Only afterward did they kick off their boots and sit at the small table beside the stove for some tea. "This is good, Ty. You said it would help me sleep?"

Ty Lee nodded eagerly. "Chamomile tea relaxes the body and spirit, so it's a very popular cure for insomnia. I know you're having problems with nightmares, but maybe easing some of your physical stress will improve your dreams."

Suki gave her own nod of agreement, sipped her cup of tea, and said, "I also seem to be having problems with a lot of my friends from the war. What _can _you tell me about why they're shunning me and keeping Sokka away?"

Ty Lee frowned, put her cup of tea down, sighed, picked her cup of tea up, looked out the single window, and then put her cup of tea down again. "All right," she finally said, "you have to understand that what I want the most is for you not to get hurt, okay?"

Suki didn't move, or say anything.

Ty Lee picked up her tea again and took a long sip. "There's only so much I can say... only so much I _understand_, but... Suki, they have their secrets. They're worried... worried about what you'd think if you knew about them."

Suki snorted. "Aang has dark secrets, sure. Tell me another one."

Ty Lee shook her head sadly. "I can't tell you much more. But, Suki, that's the real truth. I'm sure, as time goes on, they'll come to trust you the way I do. But, really, I think you would be a lot happier if you never found out what they don't want anyone to know."

Suki finished her tea, and put the cup down. She kept her eyes on it, on the bits of dead leaves floating at the bottom. "I understand that you have to keep your promises, Ty Lee. But I'm not the type of person that could ever be happier in the dark."

* * *

In an unimportant town, in an unimportant section of the Earth Kingdom, a woman named Mianju left her home in the dark, early hours of the morning and walked to the bakery and eatery where she worked. It was a quiet town, and though she was a relatively recent arrival, she had already become used to the safe and happy life she had been given here. She walked the lonely streets, her black hair and heavy green robes blending with the night, and almost didn't notice when a shadow stepped out in front of her from between two lifeless buildings. Before she could react, the shadow spoke. "Joo Dee, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Her stomach flipped at those words, freezing fear spreading out from it to slow her limbs. "No," she growled, "they healed me, they healed-"

"Then we'll do it the hard way." The figure snapped an arm up, and something flew in the night air. Before Mianju could figure it out, something unrelenting clamped around her throat. The pressure was stifling, and she felt her breathing become more labored. Darkness peppered the edge of her vision. "My name is not Joooooooooo..."

She collapsed, and the shadow dragged her into the darkness with him. One down. Hopefully, they would all be this easy to find.

* * *

A week later, on the day that the strange man collected sand on the beach, Suki led her warriors in sword katas. "Strike!" As one, a dozen girls all raised their katanas above their heads, and brought them down again as they took a step forward. "Settle," Suki barked, and the Kyoshi Warriors simultaneously twisted the swords around, released one hand to grab and position the scabbards hanging from their sides, and smoothly sheathed their swords. "Good work, girls. That's enough for this morning. Those with shifts tonight, get some sleep. Everyone else, chi-blocking lessons are this afternoon. Everyone is dismissed."

Ty Lee bounced over as the rest of the girls dispersed. "How did I do?"

Suki smiled back at her friend. "Very good! I told you that swords aren't so bad."

Ty Lee shrugged. "Oh, training with a blade is one thing, but I don't know if I want to actually carry one yet. People could get hurt!"

Suki held back a sigh. She had no desire to bring that old argument back to life. "Fair enough. I'm going back home to get a quick nap before your practice session. Don't throw all the katanas in the ocean while I'm gone."

Ty Lee quirked her head to the side. "I already promised I wouldn't do that to _your _swords! Anyway, why the nap? I thought you were sleeping better?"

Suki shrugged. "I guess I am," she said. "At least, I'm not waking up with nightmares. But now it's like I'm not even experiencing sleep. I put my head down on the pillow, and the next thing I know it's time to get up. I don't feel very rested. Maybe it's a side effect of the tea we've been having?"

Ty Lee blinked, then a large grin slowly blossomed on her face. "Ha. Ha. Maybe. Ha. Or you're just getting used to sleeping again. Or something."

"Right," Suki drawled. "Well, in that case, I'm going to get some more practice in. See you later." With a wave, she set off for her lonely little hut.

* * *

Mianju screamed as they wheeled her into the chamber. Dong Min just shook his head slowly at the sight, but his assistant couldn't help but speak up. "Shouldn't we sedate her?"

"No," Dong Min said. "She needs to be entirely lucid for this potion. She'll calm down eventually. Let's get her in the chair." The psychologist moved to unstrap the restraints that kept Mianju down on the wooden gurney, and the burley assistant immediately grabbed her and lifted her up into the air. She tried to resist, but the man kept her arms pinned to her sides, and he didn't even notice the shallow kicks she rained on his legs. He placed her gently in the chair at the center of the otherwise barren room, while Dong Min locked her down in another set of leather restraints. "There. Time to begin. Get the lights. I'll set up the rig."

The assistant moved to the torches ensconced in the stone walls, while Dong Min dragged four metal stands from the room's corners to compass points around Mianju's chair. He left the room briefly, and came back with a large circle-shaped track made of metal. This, he placed on top of the stands with the chair precisely at its center. The whole time, the torches went out one by one as the assistant doused them, until a single small lamp lighted the room. "Place it on the track," Dong Min said, "then step back. Keep it moving at a constant speed."

From the dark edges of the room, the assistant moved his hands in an Earthbending move, setting the stone-based lamp in motion along the circular track. It went round and round, sometimes shedding light on Dong Min, but always keeping Mianju visible.

She never stopped screaming.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly and the air was still when Suki arrived at her hut. She was still a short sprint away from the entrance when she noticed the footprints on the path leading right up to her residence. She bent down to examine them- large, shaped like common sandals. Her sword was back at the dojo, but she always had her fans tucked into her belt. Drawing one in each hand, she snuck up to the door and paused there. She could try peeking in through the window, but if the visitor was waiting in ambush, she might be spotted and lose the element of surprise. So she kicked open the door and immediately took a defensive stance.

There was a man sitting at the table in the center of the single-room space. "Who-" she began, but her voice trailed off when he stood up and gaped at her in shock.

He raised a hand as thought to reach for her, but Suki drew her right hand back in preparation to throw her war fan. The man lowered his own, his eyes never leaving her. "Oh, Azula. Look at you. What have those monsters done to my lovely daughter of Fire?"

"What," was all Suki could say.

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire," Dong Min said for the one hundred and sixty-third time.

Mianju's voice was long since worn away, but she shook her head lethargically and tried to keep her eyes off the rotating lamp. "No," she croaked.

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire," Dong Min said for the one hundred and sixty-fourth time.

* * *

"I called you Azula," the man replied. Looking at him now, Suki recognized him. She had only seen him once before, but she knew that face, that sickly slump born of permanently twisted chi-paths. He was, not to put too fine a point on it, the most awful man on the entire planet. Fire Lord Ozai had risen to power by exploiting his family and destroying their lives, then proceeded to escalate the global war of conquest that his forefathers had started, trying to wipe out the entire Earth Kingdom before Avatar Aang stopped him. Aang had used his powers to take Ozai's Firebending, and his son Zuko locked him away where he would never again see the sun.

And now, he was standing in Suki's hut, calling her by his insane daughter's name. "Right," she said. "Azula. I think you're a little mixed up, there. Surrender peacefully, and I won't have to injure you."

Ozai shook his head, sending his long hair and beard waving. "My daughter would never give her enemies a chance at mercy."

Suki took another step into the hut, fans ready. Why was he just standing there? Did he have a weapon hidden away? For that matter, what was with the Azula business? _She _was the one who was driven insane by the events that ended the war. Was he on cactus juice? "Well, that would be a good example of why I'm not your daughter, then. Now, surrender."

"Do you truly mean to tell me," Ozai purred, "that you believe yourself to be this 'Suki?' " He took his own step toward her. "You live your life here, think yourself a member of this cult to a dead Avatar, and don't see how they've imprisoned you on what might as well be a deserted island?" He sneered down at her. "If so, then you truly are not my daughter." He kneeled down in front of her, and offered up his hands. "I apologize for the misunderstanding. I surrender."

Suki blinked. This was... _odd_. Odd like a four hundred-foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings. Why had Ozai come all this way, come _here_, for this display? Was he who Zuko and everyone were searching for? Then why was this kept from her? Suki glanced down at him. He was wearing a cloth belt that she could use to bind his hands. She was all set to snap her fans closed and give him the same treatment she had to the warden of the Boiling Rock prison, when he suddenly spoke again. "Tell me, do you remember what your father looked like? Who took you in after he died?"

Suki blinked, her mind automatically going to thoughts of her parents. The parents who everyone on Kyoshi Island knew had died in a mudslide. The parents whose faces were _not_ coming to mind. Surely she had some impression of them, some vague remembrance, a feel of a hand, a sound of a voice, a _memory of something_?

Nothing came to mind, and Suki's mind in turn froze up in a panic as it tried to move in a direction that suddenly didn't exist.

Ozai snapped to his feet and delivered a palm strike straight to Suki's face.

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire," Dong Min said. He had lost count of how long he had been at this.

"M... Mianju..."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

* * *

Ozai had her arms pinned to her back, and shifted to slam her down on the same table where she had shared tea with Ty Lee a week before. Her uniform absorbed some of the impact, but most of it was conducted straight through her solid chest plate. It hurt, but she held onto her breath, and tried to push back up against Ozai in hopes of shifting his leverage. He pressed down in retaliation, putting all his weight on her, but that left him unbalanced, and she moved one of her feet with the intention of hooking his leg and pulling it out from under him.

"Who taught you to use a sword? Or those war fans? Was it hard to learn the Aikido style?" he wheezed right into her ear, and Suki's mind automatically followed the train of thought. She easily remembered the feel of her katana in her hand, of practicing with her fans everyday, and training with the other Kyoshi Warriors in grappling and redirection, but _none of those memories went back before the war ended_. She tried to seize anything, even the faces of the girls who might have learned alongside her. Her mind flailed about, looking for any purchase in the terrifying sea of darkness where it had been forced, but it found nothing other than Ozai's voice to save it. "Your name," he growled, "is _Azula_!"

Then he lifted her upright, twisted her around, and shoved her face into a bucket of clean Kyoshi sand that had been left beside the table.

She inhaled reflexively, and a more physical reason to panic blossomed within her as the grains filled her nose instead of the air she desperately needed.

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"My name is Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"My name is Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

* * *

She panicked, and struggled to pull her head out of the sand, but her feet couldn't find purchase on the floor, and her arms alone weren't strong enough to fight against Ozai's weight. She was running out of air in her lungs, and darkness was starting coalesce on the edges of her vision.

Suddenly, her head was yanked upward by the hair. "You are Azula," Ozai bit out. "The Avatar and his allies defeated you, locked you away, and turned you into their little doll. But you can remember what they wanted to destroy. Where did you meet your traitor friend, Ty Lee? Who taught you to fight? What voice guided you through your entire life?"

"I-" she began, but then her face was shoved back into the sands of Kyoshi Island.

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"..."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"..."

* * *

He kept her planted in the sand until she very nearly passed out again, then once more pulled her up by the hair. She heard him say, over the sounds of her own frantic panting, another strangely terrifying assertion. "You are _Azula_. You were brainwashed to think yourself a peasant, to hide from your destiny, to love a savage with no power. And the only way to save yourself now is to become who you really are. Remember the Palace, where I forged you into our nation's greatest soldier. Remember the way the sun energizes you, and the burning feeling of passion that fueled your Firebending!"

Then there was only sand.

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"...zul..."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"a... zul..."

* * *

Reality had melted away for her. There was only the lands of the light where she could breathe, and the lands of the dark where her own breath filled her lungs with abrasive death. Then she was given relief again, and some odd part of her mind noticed the colored stains on the sands below her, a legacy of the Kyoshi face paints that had been scraped off her face.

"_You are Azula,_" Ozai shrieked. "You can stop this by acknowledging the truth! _Tell me your true name!_"

Suki managed to inhale one last time just before she was sent back into the sands.

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"Azula..."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"My... name..."

* * *

She wasn't planning, she wasn't thinking, she was beyond even the most basic survival of instincts. It seemed like he was taking longer, this time, leaving her buried without air more than she could survive. Her body spasmed in panic, twisting and shaking and waving her limbs every possible way, but she was slowing. Her arms and legs tingled, and they felt like they were made of rock. Her lungs burned, and she felt herself dying. She had to do something to make it stop to do something _to get some air DO SOMETHING_-

Ozai pulled her head up again and she just _acted_. She took a huge breath, looked down at the bucket full of sand, and-

And-

And spat a stream of blue fire over the sands of Kyoshi Island.

The fire exploded on contact, flaring up and splattering glowing droplets of glass all over. Most landed on the little table where she shared tea with Ty Lee, in turn birthing beautiful new flames of golden orange color over the wooden surface. Some burned through her uniform and she felt the heat on her skin, but there was no pain.

Ozai startled at the explosion, reflexively moving away from the blue flames and molten glass that he could no longer Bend, in process letting go of her hair. Panting, she spun to face him, arms coming up in an unthinking defensive stance, but her gaze kept turning back to the blue flames dancing over the bucket.

_Blue flames._

Where there were no memories of peasant parents, or a sword teacher, or fellow recruits to the Kyoshi Warriors, there came intimate images of azure fire. She had a flash of the time she poured her concentration into making her Firebending unique, and watching in delight as the yellow flames turned a new color. She felt a hand on her back, gentle and congratulatory, as she demonstrated her new powers for the court. She saw flashes of her enemies on the other side of those flames, always falling back in fear of her.

Aang.

Katara.

Sokka.

Her enemies?

Why did she still feel like her parents had died in a mudslide?

How did she know what was real?

_What had they done to her?_

"Your name is Azula," Ozai said from the far side of the hut.

She turned to face him, calming her breathing. She couldn't panic. She had to deal with this. She had to be _perfect_. She had to master herself.

"My daughter," he added.

"Yes," Azula said, "it seems so."

He grinned. "You remember?"

She put a hand on her hip, and gave him a pitying stare. "Well, that's the question, isn't it? _Father._ You worked _so hard _to restore me to who I was, and you've succeeded, to a certain degree." She clapped her hands together in mock appreciation. "Well done. The only problem is..." She drew it out, waiting to see his beaming face slacken in realization that he still hadn't quite won. "It seems I'm having a little difficulty sorting my memories out, so soon after ceasing to be Suki. A whole lifetime is a lot to recall, after all, so it's understandable that there would be gaps. For example..."

She stepped towards him, and gave him a small, tight smile. "I'm having a hard time remembering why I ever wanted to keep you alive, even when you _could _Firebend."

His eyebrows pinched together. "You wouldn't."

She held up a hand, and watched as the blue flames rose out of the palm. A cold feeling settled in her stomach. "Suki certainly wouldn't," Azula said. "But I'm discovering that I'm a whole new woman, now..."

* * *

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"My name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"My name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"Your name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

"My name is Azula, Princess of Fire."

Dong Min exhaled slowly, and motioned for his assistant to let the lamp settle to a stop. "Now the hard part begins," he whispered.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

Author's Note: This chapter should not be read as advocating 'Deprogramming' techniques. Future chapters will illustrate why, Human Rights issue aside, these methods are not supported by any authority in the psychology field.


	4. The Fire Princess Returns

**The Fire Princess Returns**

It would be a day long remembered, a day long mourned. It started as a bright day beneath a single thick spread of white clouds.

Kyoshi Island had only been attacked once during the entire Hundred Year War. This was in no small part due to the diligence of the Kyoshi Warriors, who protected its shores with almost xenophobic intensity. It wasn't until the Avatar returned that the Fire Nation brought its destructive ways to the island, and even that brief skirmish left much of the main fishing village burning. If not for the help of the Avatar himself, much could have been lost. One thing was known to all the residents of Kyoshi Island about that day, though- their Warriors tried their best, and had all fallen before they allowed damage to come to their home.

As such, on one specific day in the era when strife in the former Fire Nation colonies had replaced the old world war, it was with no small amount of fear that various residents of Kyoshi Island noticed a thick column of black smoke rising up from the section of the island where the Kyoshi Warriors had their dojo and living huts.

Where a strange man had carried a bucket of sand earlier that day.

Someone in town rang the Danger Gong, and pre-selected responders dropped what they were doing and tried to find a way to help.

All but one, that is.

* * *

Azula waited just beside the front door. The Danger Gong was sounding in the distance, and frantic footsteps could be heard within the small hut. She tensed, leaned forward, and steadied her breathing. As soon as the door burst open, Azula tackled the emerging Ty Lee and tumbled with her back inside. They struck the floor together, Ty Lee on bottom, and the breath whooshed out of her lungs. While the acrobat gasped for air, Azula calmly stood up and pushed her hair out of her face.

It was then that she remembered what color her hair was. The locks that hung over her eyes were the natural reddish-brown that she had only ever seen on herself. On _Suki_. Azula- herself- had black hair, didn't she? Like Zuko?

Like Ozai?

In her confusion, she didn't even notice when Ty Lee rose to stare at her. "Um, Suki, are you okay? What's with the rough tackle-hug? Mai always told me that it was important to 'arrest my momentum' before colliding with people I want to hug."

Azula ignored her. She _was_ Azula, wasn't she? She could Firebend, and the flames she produced were blue. She had those memories of Firebending... well, snatches of memories, but she didn't have any of the Suki memories she was supposed to. She _had _to be Azula. None of it made sense, otherwise.

Like it made sense _now_?

"Um, Suki?" Ty Lee leaned forward to stare eye-to-eye. "You okay? The gong is ringing, we're supposed to be reporting for duty. The other girls might be waiting for us. And what happened to your facepaint? It's like it's been scraped off."

Azula blinked. She couldn't fall apart. She had to be perfect. There was no other way out of this nightmare. Growling, she grabbed a few strands of her own hair and ripped them out of her scalp. Holding them up in Ty Lee's face, she spat, "Explain this!"

Ty Lee frowned. "Ouchie?"

Gripping the hairs even tighter, Azula willed them to burst into flames. The blue glow tinted Ty Lee's painted face as the acrobat's expression turned to shock. "Explain," the Fire Princess said as the strands turned to ash in her palm, "why I have Suki's hair, but can Firebend. And you will address me as _Azula_, traitor."

Ty Lee backed away slowly, a hand rising to her mouth. She shook her head and dropped her gaze to the floor. "I'm so sorry. So very very very sorry. _So sorry_..."

Azula waited her out. The gong continued to sound outside.

Ty Lee swallowed, and once more met Azula's gaze. "Listen, Suki, I know you're probably mad-"

"THAT IS _NOT_ MY NAME!" The scream left Azula's throat raw, but the pain helped her focus. She couldn't lose her temper, not if she wanted answers. "Don't call me by that lie! It's all a lie! I don't even know what's real anymore, it's _your fault_, and I won't let you confuse me anymore! Tell me what's going on, and _tell me why I have Suki's hair_!"

Ty Lee flinched at the scream, and again when Azula referred to 'Suki' in the third person. "Okay... okay... Azula. I'll help you. I only ever wanted to help you. It's okay." Her breath hitched, as though she was sobbing, but she didn't stop. "Azula, that's _your _hair. It was the same color as your mother's. Lady Ursa."

Azula narrowed her eyes. That couldn't be true, could it? Ursa had black hair in the portraits Azula had seen. The Fire Princess felt a cold dread settle in her stomach when she realized she couldn't actually remember what her mother looked like. There were no images of the woman in her mind, just like there were none of Suki's life and family. She found herself sinking into one of the chairs at Ty Lee's little kitchenette table. "What was done to me? I don't know what's real anymore," she mumbled.

Ty Lee moved toward her, and Azula found herself enveloped in a hug. "It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

How _dare _she?

An elbow to Ty Lee's face was effective enough in making the acrobat jump back again. Seeing Ty Lee quickly cup her nose, something inside of Azula twisted. "I- I-"

Ty Lee shook her head. "It's okay," she said. Taking her hands away, she continued in a soothing tone, "There's no blood. It's okay, Azula. It's _okay_."

The Fire Princess nodded. She had to stay strong, if she was going to figure out what was going on. "Tell me what I want to know."

"What _do _you want to know?" Ty Lee quirked her head to the side like a curious puppy. "Is it okay if I put some tea on? I think we both need some calming influence. I'll make some chamomile!"

Azula sighed. "Fine. Do it quickly." Ty Lee didn't dawdle in filling the teapot and putting it over a flame. When she left it to boil, she turned back to Azula. "Now," the Fire Princess said, "tell me about the past."

"Um?"

"Who is Azula?"

Ty Lee thought about it. "The daughter of Ozai and Ursa. Princess of the Fire Nation. _My friend._Fire Lord for a day. Sick girl who needed help. A beautiful woman. A Firebender. Uh, that's all I can think of?"

Azula nodded. So far, so good. "Do I know Suki?"

"Um?"

Azula resisted the urge to sigh. "Let me put it in more concrete terms. The last time that I- the last memory of Suki's that I have is seeing Azula up close at the Boiling Rock. There was a fight on the gondola. I- you and Suki fought each other to a draw. Then, she escaped with Zuko, Sokka, and his father Hakoda. We went to the Western Air Temple. Or did it not happen that way?" She stood up and stared down at Ty Lee. "Did you defeat Suki? Did she fall to her death into the Boiling Lake? Is that why you tried to replace her with me? And how did you color my hair?"

The teapot whistled. Ty Lee hurried over, added the leaves, and poured two cups. She carried both to the table and slid one to Azula. Only after she had taken a sip from her own cup did she finally say, "Your hair was always this color. Azula, I don't know how to tell you this, but... those memories aren't real. There was no prisoner named Suki at the Boiling Rock. Sokka and Zuko just freed Hakoda. When they escaped, I fought Sokka, and didn't win." A flicker of a smile reached her face. "We fought to a draw, like you said. Zuko fought... Azula. You. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Azula kept her breathing steady. No, it couldn't have happened that way. Some of her memories were muddled, some didn't exist where they should, but she _remembered _that. She remembered being on top of the gondola, the way it shifted in the wind and lurched when the line was being cut. She remembered her bare arms crossing against Ty Lee's, remembered Ty Lee fleeing when the other gondola was brought over to bring the acrobat and... Azula... back to the prison before the line was fully cut. It was all so clear.

What had happened after that? She tried to remember, and recalled the facts smoothly enough. Mai had saved them in order to save Zuko, had unlocked the controls so that the gondola was free to take them away. It was easy to conjure pictures to go with it, the story was so familiar...

But the truly vivid memories were those that came with the recollection of Mai's face, of the cool fury in the knife-thrower's expression. Of seeing the girl standing at the opposite end of the landing platform with a posture that was at once proper and defiant.

Her teeth ground together, and she could feel the allure of the blue flames.

"Drink your tea," Ty Lee said softly. "Please, we need to deal with this calmly. It's okay. I promise. It's okay."

Azula's hand went automatically for her cup and raised it to her lips. She stared at the warm liquid, at the bits of leaves wafting on the currents at the bottom. Her stomach went hollow as her rapidly moving mind began putting pieces of the puzzle together.

She put the cup down. "Switch with me."

Ty Lee blinked. "What?"

"It's a simple request," Azula said. "Give me your cup. You drink from mine."

"S- Azula..."

Azula raised her hands and summoned an inferno in each of her palms. "Are you trying to help me sleep, hm? Like you have been for the last week? Why don't you tell me why I haven't had _any_ dreams lately, Ty. What have you been putting in my tea? Not that I can trust _anything_ you say, apparently. _Traitor_."

Ty Lee flinched but didn't let go of her own cup. "Please, you're confused, I-"

"Drink it," Azula said softly. She raised a flaming hand towards Ty Lee's face. "Or I'll you'll learn first-hand what I did to my father. Oh, didn't you know he was on the island? I'm surprised, considering how much _news _you keep track of from all over the world. But I'm sure you'll hear all about it once you wake up."

Ty Lee looked up at her, but Azula made sure that she showed no weakness, no sympathy. It wasn't hard; all she had to do was think of the lies and manipulations that the supposedly simple and caring acrobat had perpetrated over the last week. The last month.

The last _year and a half_.

A lifetime?

Trembling, Ty Lee picked up the cup and began drinking. Only her throat moved as she chugged it down, but the shadows cast by Azula's flaming fists danced across the acrobat's painted face. At last she finished and put the cup back down. Azula noticed that Ty Lee's eyes were already glassy. Perhaps the concoction wasn't meant to downed so fast.

Oh well.

Azula let the fires die, and Ty Lee slumped off her chair. "Goodnight, my friend," the Fire Princess said. "And goodbye."

* * *

The Kyoshi Warriors got the fire put out at Suki's hut. They were dressed inconsistently, some in full uniform and makeup while some others were still in their civilian clothes. A handful wore their silk green dresses but hadn't bothered with the facepaint. When the Danger Gong rang, they didn't stop for anything.

They had saved most of Suki's home, but they were still trying to identify the man whose body had been dragged out. A healer from the island was trying to see if he was still alive. With nothing else immediate to occupy their attention, the Kyoshi Warriors did a headcount. Everyone was there, even the off-duty Warriors, except for two. Suki and Ty Lee.

This was worrisome.

Vice-Commander Chijin looked around at the other girls. "Painted and armed Warriors will come with me to check on Ty Lee. Everyone else, suit up for trouble and guard the fishing village and docks."

Above, the fields of clouds swirled and darkened, readying for a storm.

* * *

Azula had managed to finish most of her preparations. She had used Ty Lee's makeup kit to dress her own face up again, on the assumption that an anonymous member of the Warriors would be harder to track than someone who- for all she knew- was known to the entire island as the sick experiment from the Fire Nation. She had also raided the hut for supplies, tossing food and clothing into a sack. Like most of the Kyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee didn't keep her katana at home, but she had several sets of war fans, so Azula appropriated two of them, one to arm herself with and another as a spare.

She was just tying up the sack when there came a knock at the door.

Azula scowled. They couldn't have waited another five minutes?

"Ty Lee?" a voice called through the door. "Are you home? Did you hear the Danger Gong?"

Azula had to get away. These people were all in on it. She could never discover the truth if she let them recapture her. They'd take her back to... wherever, and steal her memories again! Maybe this time they'd just kill her. But how could she escape? They would have the hut surrounded, if they were following the procedures that Azula herself had taught them as Suki. She had sparred with those girls before, and knew she couldn't defeat them all, especially not if they came at her together. It was impossible!

But Azula had done the impossible before.

All she had to do was be herself.

For a second, she almost gave up. It was hard not to think of Azula- of herself- as a monster. Kyoshi Island still called to her, still felt like home. Was she willing to let a monster loose on this place?

Another knock. "Ty Lee? We're kicking the door in if you don't answer."

Azula took a deep breath and let her mind loose.

First of all, she had to escape. The hut was surrounded. Enemy numbers were too great to fight. That meant deception and misdirection. She couldn't assume that they would trust 'Suki,' so she had to conceal her identity from them. Then, if she were going to escape the island, she would need to sow confusion, so that an organized manhunt and blockade couldn't be established. To do that, she needed to exploit fears, psychological weaknesses, cultural blind spots, and humanity's good old-fashioned tendency to panic in the face of the unthinkable.

Azula's mind supplied all the details as she grabbed for a kitchen knife, crouched over the unconscious Ty Lee, and began sawing the girl's hair off.

* * *

"Okay, push it in," Vice-Commander Chijin said to the other Kyoshi Warriors outside Ty Lee's hut. They all drew back a few steps, and readied themselves to ram the entrance-

Then a painted Kyoshi Warrior with her long brown hair hanging haphazardly over her face and shoulders burst through the door in a rush. She coughed into her arm, seeming in the grip of some kind of fit, but between her hacking, she managed to hoarsely bite out, "Invaders on the island! Hurry, we have to save Suki! They thought they knocked me out, but they've still got her!"

Confused minds wheeled, but Ty Lee- for surely it must be her- dashed off, still holding back coughs with a hand over her face, and waved for the others to follow her. In the face of disaster, the chain of command broke down. They all rushed off after her, leaving Ty Lee's presumably empty hut behind.

* * *

Amateurs. If Azula were staying on as their commander, the Kyoshi Warriors would be subjected to _plenty _of emergency drills after this! Imagine, just running off after a sketchily-identified figure without any kind of plan or information. Disgraceful!

Well, it was playing to her advantage now. She ran as fast as she could, heading back away from town and its outlying homes, towards the forest. This time of year, the foliage was thick and green, and not entirely by coincidence it was remarkably similar in color to the uniforms of the Kyoshi Warriors themselves. It was a big help when they patrolled the island's shores, looking for smugglers or spies landing at the uncivilized portions of the island. They could watch invisibly, and strike from nowhere. Azula plunged into the tree line, and the others followed without considering that such an effect could work just as well in reverse. The Fire Princess led them along for a while, putting as much distance between her and the rest of her entourage as possible, then stopped suddenly and eased her way behind an especially thick bush.

The other Warriors continued running.

Azula counted, making sure they all passed her, before she emerged from her hiding place and untied Ty Lee's hair from around her head. She kept her own auburn hair tied up, lest its color distract her, and began moving quickly back the way she came. The first phase was complete, now it was time to escalate. She made a buzzard-beeline for the most revered spot on Kyoshi Island- the Avatar's Shrine. Nestled in the thick of the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and cluster of huts, it contained relics and ancient art of Kyoshi herself.

Azula slowed as she approached it. The converted temple was sacred to everyone who lived on the island, and the Kyoshi Warriors especially. They had built their homes and training centers around it in order to protect it, and they were encouraged to visit it regularly and try to feel Kyoshi's spirit within. The island's clerics claimed that the boots, weapons, and kimono on display still had an ethereal connection to the dead Avatar. Such a little, fragile shack, but well-loved.

Azula had vowed allegiance to this place, as Suki.

Steeling herself, she took a wide-legged stance on the dirt path, and punched a fist towards the shrine. A blue fireball flew out and sailed straight through the structure's entrance. It exploded within.

That should draw some attention, when the smoke was seen. For now, she had other targets, other distractions. The Warriors' dojo was worth hitting, as long as she was nearby, then the ancient statue of Kyoshi right in the middle of town was ideally positioned to be an effective attention-splitter, if she could find a vantage point that would let her burn it from afar.

Above, the storm clouds darkened.

* * *

Vice-Commander Chijin was reluctantly forced to admit to herself that she had been completely fooled. The 'Ty Lee' who led them on this merry chase had for all intents and purposes evaporated into the forest, and now they had no idea where either Suki or Ty Lee were. Or if they were even alive. She slowed and leaned against a larger tree that would serve as a handy landmark back for the other Warriors, and barked out a, "Halt!"

One or two of the lower-ranking Warriors who wore identical headdresses approached out of the foliage and stopped at Chijin's tree. "Stop the others here," she told them. "I'm going on a little scouting mission." Chijin put her fans away, and grabbed the lowest branch of the tree. She hauled herself up, digging her boots into the bark, and began scaling the trunk. Her family had originally been loggers who lived at the crest of the hill near the island's center, so she knew her heights and tree-climbing.

At the top of the tree, Chijin paused and looked around. There was no activity in the forest either ahead or back the way they had come, but something on the horizon caught her eyes. Several somethings.

Columns of smoke were rising from the Kyoshi Warriors' section of the island. Their mystery arsonist was still at large.

"_Unagi breath_," she hissed.

* * *

Azula had left the burning dojo behind and was running down the path back towards the docks when she encountered a cluster of four Kyoshi Warriors rushing up to greet her from the direction of the town. So, not all of the girls on active duty had been at Ty Lee's place, and even if she still had the long hair she stole from the acrobat, there was no way she could make that trick work in this context. She could try to bluff them as Suki, but there was no telling how much they knew about her. For all she was aware, everyone on the island had realized that she remembered herself when they saw the various fires. These Warriors could be intending to attack her regardless of what she said.

Well, let it never be said that Azula was too proud to steal someone else's smart strategies. Good thing she had picked up a katana before she lit the dojo on fire. Palming the handle, she aimed herself at the lead Kyoshi Warrior.

The girl- it looked like Hanuke, a junior member who had taken well to Ty Lee's chi-blocking lessons- slowed her run as Azula approached her. "Suki, is that y-"

As soon as she was close enough, Azula skidded to stop and drew her katana from the scabbard at her side. She didn't completely unsheathe the blade, but she didn't need to; she angled the sword so that her drawing motion smashed the handle right into Hanuke's mouth. The Warrior went down hard, and only then did Azula draw her katana fully out of its scabbard.

The other Warriors following her stopped their running abruptly, coming to a rest far short of Azula's position. As one, they drew their own swords.

Distant thunder sounded in the clouds above.

Azula dashed at the nearest girl- Reppai. Azula had been training the girl to be more effective with the katana, but Reppai's swings were still weak because she had trouble remembering to keep her arms straight. Azula swung her own sword upward with all her strength, and when Reppai tried to block it incorrectly, the force tore the weapon out of her hands. Before Reppai could recover, Azula brought her weapon back down again, bashing the butt of the handle on the girl's head. Reppai dropped senseless.

At this point, Kosokoso came at Azula from behind, trying to use her extra height to stab her own sword between the Fire Princess' shoulder blades, but Azula heard the girl's boots crunching on the dirt path- Kyoshi Warriors stealth tactics didn't adapt well to ongoing combat- and sidestepped. Azula curled her leg and threw it out into a sideways kick that batted the katana out of the way, then followed up with a kick right into the open space between Kosokoso's front and back chestplates. Azula thought she heard a rib snapping, and the other girl cried out in pain. A final kick knocked Kosokoso off her feet.

The last Warrior circled Azula warily. Ah, Kowagaru. She was a veteran warrior who had joined and trained even before the Avatar's return, and she had no obvious weaknesses. Her sword work was an inspiration to all, and she could transition quickly back to using her war fans, or even fighting unarmed. She could give even Suki a run for her money in a sword duel.

The Fire Princess took one hand off her katana, and used the other to swing her weapon in a sideways cut at her opponent. Kowagaru used her own sword to deflect, catching Azula's blade and redirecting it to the side instead of trying to stop it outright. Azula let the other girl have her way, and let go of the katana even as she exhaled strongly, brought her _other _hand inward, and punched it straight into Kowagaru's chest armor. Normally, such an attack would do nothing more than break Azula's knuckles, but in this instance, the blow was softened by a concussive blast of fire that cushioned Azula's fist in warm air.

The shaped explosion also had the bonus effect of sending Kowagaru flying like she had been hit by a charging komodo rhino.

Four down, none getting back up. Leaving her sword, Azula took off in a run again. She had more fires to set.

* * *

Vice-Commander Chijin had just arrived back at Kyoshi's Shrine, now an orange blaze that was more fire than wood, when she saw a blue fireball fly across the distant sky and land smack in the middle of the fishing village. Something exploded where it had fallen, and another column of black smoke wafted into the air to the join the dark gray storm clouds above.

She was a grown woman, a strong person, and a mighty warrior, but just then Chijin really felt like she needed to cry.

Instead, she took a deep breath and turned to the other girls she had led out of the forest. "All of you, form a bucket brigade to the unagi's beach and do what you can to save the shrine. I'm going into town to organize defense and rescue. Sohai, you're in charge. May the Spirits aid our efforts."

* * *

Azula didn't remember enough Firebending moves to snipe Kyoshi's statue from outside of town. However, it was easy enough to figure out some kind of haphazard long-distance bombardment method. All she had to do was extend her arms to either side of her, take a low bow stance, and then spring up into a spin. Fire accumulated around her spiraling fists as she rose into the air, and swung off into the distance when she reached the leap's apex. The only problem was its lack of accuracy. Azula was slowly finding the range, getting the fireballs closer and closer to Kyoshi's statue, but the only things she were hitting were homes and shops in the middle of town.

She wasn't ignorant of the damage she was causing, but she knew that Azula wouldn't care.

Only Azula could save her now.

Crouching low again with one leg straight and one folded tightly, Azula launched herself forward at a low flying angle. She felt heat get pulled out of the increasingly humid air and form fire around her hands, then bunch up into a little heart of destruction before snapping off and away.

This one hit Kyoshi right in the center of the chest. The rest of the wooden statue quickly caught fire.

There, done. Time for her exit strategy. As Azula peeled off her armor and silk dress, thunder rolled down from swirling skies.

* * *

Vice-Commander Chijin found Oyagi, Elder of the fishing village, instructing a team of citizens in setting up a hand-powered water pump that they could use to dowse the flames. Around them, the village smoked and burned in pockets, but without quick action, the entire town could soon be engulfed. Chijin felt another wave of unbearable heat smack her face as a nearby building caught the blaze. "Elder!"

Oyagi turned to her. "Ah, Chijin. Have you found Suki?"

"What? No, I've been trying to stop all the fires! The other warriors are trying to save the shrine, but..."

He shook his head sadly. "Your spirit is commendable. Your decision was probably wrong, but I don't think even I could have seen Kyoshi's Shrine ablaze and not tried to do something."

She tried to swallow, but in the heat, it took several attempts. Finally, she said, "What do you want me to do?"

Oyagi looked back as the other villagers began working the pump, and a spout of seawater flew towards one of the burning buildings. "One more person won't make a difference here, but we might yet save the rest of the world. Vice-Commander Chijin, I want you to dispatch a letter to Fire Lord Zuko on my authority. Tell him that we woke up to our worst nightmare."

* * *

It took a while to sneak her way through the town's outskirts. Most of the denizens had gone to fight the fire, but there were still a few around trying to save themselves, or taking even worse advantage of the situation to loot and destroy. Azula no longer looked like a Kyoshi Warrior in one of Ty Lee's pink field-dresses, but she didn't know how recognizable her face was to these people, so she stayed cautious.

Finally, she reached the docks, and found where so many people had been running to.

Crowds were gathered in front of each of the moored boats. Some were able to surge forward unimpeded to jump aboard the ship and use them to escape what they probably saw as a besieged deathtrap of an island. Other crowds were kept back by guardians, shouting that they wouldn't allow their boats to be stolen by cowards.

Azula recognized one such man. He wielded a cutlass, and his bushy gray hair and eyebrows only added to the deranged look on his face as he screamed at the crowds. "Back off! _Back!_ You try to take my boat, then you'll be a pirate! And I'll deal with you _like _a pirate!"

Azula pushed through the crowd, using a heated hand to shove people out of the way as needed. She broke through the front of the cluster, but stopped well short of the man's waving cutlass. "Captain Toru!"

He blinked and followed the sound of her voice, but when he saw her, he only gave her a hard stare. "Back!"

"It's me, Commander Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors! Remember, from the tavern raid the other night? You told me rumors about a... fugitive."

His wild eyebrows shot up, and he moved his cutlass into a more defensive position as he wave her forward with his other hand. "Come on, I'll keep these pirates back from you!"

She dashed out of the crowd and stepped lightly around him. Others tried to follow her, but another wild slice of the cutlass stopped them short. Azula herself paused just behind Toru and grabbed his shoulders. "I need you to set sail! I'm on official Kyoshi Warrior business, and I need your boat so that I can catch the person who did all this. You'll be reimbursed for your assistance, later."

That brought him up short for a moment, but then he schooled his face and nodded. "Any way I can help the Kyoshi Warriors, I'm happy to oblige. Get on the ship." Half turning towards his boat, he shouted, "'hoy, lads! We're launching! Set the sail and straighten her!" Deckhands scrambled over the ship as Azula ran aboard. Toru paused only to swipe at the crowd again, then he chopped his cutlass down on the mooring rope and jumped from the dock to the deck. The crowd surged forward again, but the winds caught the sails and pushed the ship into the bay. Some people fell off the docks into the water, but most simply dispersed after a moment to find another means of escape to try to steal.

Azula leaned on the boat's railing and watched as Kyoshi Island shrunk away. The fires were still smoking over at the Kyoshi Warriors' little settlement, and more of the town itself was burning than Azula had last seen. The clouds above were dark, and flashed occasionally with lightning, but no rain came. The damage could well be catastrophic, and there was no doubt that people were dying on Kyoshi Island today.

Azula still had it, it seemed. The Fire Princess was well and truly back.

A single pair of tears fell from her eyes and landed in the bay. "What kind of a monster _am I_?"

The roll of thunder was her only answer.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	5. Interlude the First

**Interlude the First**

_The Past_

_Sokka and Zuko took their first steps into the Kingdom of Insanity._

_It was a bright, warm day on the island of Mi Mang, but Sokka did not feel it. Passing through the front gates of the Home put too much of a chill in his bones, bones that withstood the deadly winds of the South Pole without a problem. Some chills, though, went deeper than mere flesh and skeleton. They could cast a gray pall over even the sun itself. Pausing at the building's front door, Sokka glanced to his friend standing beside him and asked, "You ready?"_

_Zuko let out a strong, completely defeated breath. "Yeah." Looking up from his feet, he added, "Thanks for coming with me."_

_Sokka shook his head. "Don't mention it. Unless I really need you to return the favor, then you can feel free to remember it." He pushed the door open and stepped inside._

_The administrator was waiting as agreed. Lady Bokujin stood in the front hall, all serene grace and wise wrinkles. She bowed at the waist to Zuko, but said only, "Thank you for coming. Please, follow me. She's in her garden." As Bokujin led them deeper into the mansion, Sokka tried to take comfort in the large windows, the light and pleasant decorations, but it was a futile effort. They were merely things to see, like the sunlight, and they did nothing to appease his other senses. The side of him that was still partially animal had no trouble detecting the insanity within these walls._

_The Home did not confine most of its residents. The Fire Nation's sciences of the mind were the most sophisticated in the world, and the current belief was that locking away those who posed no danger to others would be counterproductive to the healing process. Sokka liked the sound of this logic, but that didn't stop the results from attacking his innate feel for what was right and natural. He kept his gaze forward as he moved through the hallways, but he was not cruel enough to ignore those who sought his eyes. He nodded politely at a man with white bandages wrapped around his wrists. He muttered an, "Excuse me," when a woman with glassy eyes wandered right across his path. He didn't wince when he passed an old woman in a chair who screamed continuously for no reason that he could discern._

_If only he didn't feel so much for these people, for what they suffered, and for the obvious lack of relief for them. It was a pain that he could only withstand by pretending it didn't exist. He had almost a lifetime of practice at that._

_Too soon, not soon enough, Lady Bokujin led the young men out the mansion's back door. The gardens were beautiful, as only gardens in the Fire Nation could be. Tropical flowers were spread around as though their beauty could be massed against depression like infantry on the battlefield. The residents of the Home gathered here, too, under the watchful eyes of some of the staff. A group was even involved in a game that had them chasing a ball across the grass. One man stood in the center of the garden, just ahead of the intersection of two parallel lines of Fire Lilies. Only the skin of his arms and head were visible outside of his robe, and they were covered in long-healed burn scars. He lifted his face to the sun, and held his arms out wide towards the sky as though expecting an embrace._

_Sokka couldn't help but stare as Lady Bokujin led him and Zuko past the burn victim. Without warning, the man lowered his face to look at Sokka, said, "I am the Agni Warrior made flesh," and turned back to the sun without waiting for a reply._

_Sokka suppressed a shudder and willed himself to endure the chill in his bones._

_Zuko and Sokka found the one they came to see in her private garden. It was closed off from the rest of the grounds by a circle of tall hedges, and boasted no flowers. Instead, it was a garden of candles. They sat on wide dishes scattered across the grass. The flames were small, but even under the noon sun they glowed strongly. The center of the garden had been given over to a stone platform, a simple disk of white rock that reflected enough sunlight to sear the eye. As always, she sat huddled in the center of the disk. Her dark, heavy robes matched her auburn hair, making her a blot on the disk that ruined its attempts to imitate the sun above._

_"Hello, sister," Zuko said with uncharacteristic softness._

_She didn't react. She just kept shivering, the same way Sokka wanted to at the sight of her. Of course, if he were wearing a robe as thick and heavy as hers, at the center of so much reflected light, he might have felt differently, but she shook like she had just been pulled from the icy seas of the poles. Sokka forced a smile on his face and gave her a little wave. "Hey, Azula. I'm here, too."_

_"I'm not Azula," she whispered. "The Princess must be dead."_

_Sokka and Zuko both looked to Lady Bokujin. The administrator motioned helplessly; it was just as she had written to Zuko._

_Zuko approached his sister, stepping carefully so as not to disturb the candles. "Then who are you?"_

_Azula shrugged. "I don't know, anymore." Her shivering intensified for a second, making her wince, then went back to its original rate. "Azula is perfect," she gasped. "That's why people feared her. That's why her father accepted her. She could never be anything less than perfect. That's why I can't be her. I'm just nobody. A nobody with nothing who shouldn't even be alive."_

_Sokka approached her as well. Keeping his voice light and friendly, he said, "Well, perfection is over-rated. I've always been a 'good enough' kind of guy, myself, and life has never had a problem with me still hanging around. It's even given me a few rewards, you know?"_

_Azula looked up at him with eyes of faded gold. "No rewards," she whispered. "No mother, no brother, no… no father. I wasn't perfect enough to keep them. Azula would have found a way to get them back. I can't make the world she wanted. Let Azula live there. She would like it. She wouldn't like it here. It's too cold. I can't get away from the cold."_

_Zuko turned away, his scarred face tight, but then he leaned over towards Azula. "Maybe I can help with that. Do you want me to hold you? I can share my Firebending warmth."_

_Her face paled so suddenly that Sokka thought she might faint; all she did was look down sharply and continue her shivering. "I haven't been warm since he touched me. I don't think I'll ever be warm again. Please don't touch me. I don't want to be touched" She hiccuped, and a pair of tears fell from her eyes. "Az- Azula was always warm." Before the sobs overcame her speech, she managed to slur out, "Why can't I get warm? What did he do to Azula's fire?"_

_Zuko went to hug her, but Lady Bokujin was quicker. She dashed over to grab the Fire Lord's shoulder, and shook her head frantically, concern obvious on her face. Zuko froze and looked indecisive for several long moments, then sighed and let the Home's administrator pull him away from his sister. Sokka made to follow them, but stopped as an idea occurred to him. Perhaps he shouldn't, but if the alternative was to just do nothing, and no one else could help-_

_Smiling at Azula, Sokka said, "And what if you didn't have to be Azula to be happy?" She looked up at him, curiosity giving a little life to her eyes. He continued, "What if we let you be someone else? I'll make you a new name myself."_

_She blinked, and her sobs subsided. "Could I be someone warm?"_

_Sokka held back a grimace. "I'll look into that for you."_

_Azula nodded slowly, her auburn hair bobbing slightly with the motion. "Okay."_

* * *

The Present

The first thing Sokka heard when he, Aang, Katara, and Toph reached what used to be the Kyoshi Warrior dojo was Mai's drawling remark. "Well, anyone want to tell me again about how my worst case scenario could never, ever happen?"

"Shut your awful face," Katara spat.

Sokka expected that to be the start of a fight, but Mai just gave Katara a look and went back to gazing at the devastation. Aang wandered off in the direction of the pile of ash that used to be Kyoshi's shrine; the expression on his face reminded Sokka of when the kid had discovered his mentor's skeleton in the Southern Air Temple. Katara reached down and ran her hand through the ashes of the dojo, grimaced, and brushed it off again quickly.

Sokka himself didn't need to do anything more than simply see the devastation; the town back at the docks was already sight enough for him. Turning to Mai, he said, "Where's our local Fire Lord?"

She nodded in the direction of the Warriors' huts. "He's 'debriefing' Vice-Commander Chijin. The ranting got so loud that I had to leave before I got a headache."

Great. Sokka jogged off to prevent a possible international incident.

Zuko's scarred face was intimidating enough when he chose to scowl, but when Sokka found him pacing in front of a whole squad of Kyoshi Warriors, the Fire Lord was in a full-blown tantrum state. Zuko was _good _at tantrums. He had apparently left his fancy robes and crown behind for this one, in favor of simpler traveling clothes, but his body language was more than intimidating enough. As Sokka approached, he saw Zuko whirl to face one Kyoshi Warrior who stood at attention, separated from the rest. "-can't believe they haven't stripped such an incompetent child of your position, never mind still allowing you to wear the colors and uniform of the Kyoshi Warriors!"

Yeah, totally an international incident. "Hey! Zuko! Chill. Um, if that isn't a horrible insult to Firebenders."

All eyes turned to Sokka as he ambled up to the scene. This close, he could see how tight Chijin's face was beneath her makeup. She was obviously exerting a lot of energy holding back whatever she was really feeling. Sokka reached over to give the Fire Lord a friendly pat, and nearly found himself taking a step back at the animalistic fury on his friend's face. "What business is of it of yours how I choose to address my allies?"

Sokka met that gaze confidently. "Are you really saying I don't get to be involved? After the part I've already played?"

Zuko turned away. "No."

"Thanks." Sokka glanced at Chijin. "Now, what's with the ranting?"

Zuko's hands formed fists, but Sokka couldn't detect the scent of smoke in the air, so things were safe enough. "I was just investigating why no one realized what my sister was doing and organized an appropriate response. From what I've heard, they behaved like a bunch of amateurs, and the Vice-Commander here accepted responsibility for that. She failed to explain why she was looking for a mysterious arsonist when 'Suki' was missing."

"Did she, now?" Zuko didn't answer. Nodding, Sokka turned to Chijin and smiled politely. "Hi. Nice to see you again. Could you explain what went on? I heard the summary from Oyaji at the docks, but any details you want to share would be fine."

Chijin held on for only one more second before she finally burst out with, "I thought you told us she wasn't a Firebender anymore!"

Sokka raised his eyebrows at Zuko. "That's an excellent point, Chijin. So, Zuko, what did your 'investigations' find out about that?"

The Fire Lord suddenly found his boots to be utterly fascinating, judging from the close attention he was paying them. "Nothing. Yet." He raised his gaze and looked Sokka right in the eyes; there was still fury in his expression, but this was a _cold _anger. "But now that Aang's here, it's time to talk to the best clue we have." He immediately began stomping away, with far more gusto than should have been appropriate.

Sokka threw one last apologetic smile at Chijin and chased off his friend. "You mean the man who can give us the best clues."

Zuko shook his head and growled, "He's no man. Men don't hurt their own children."

* * *

_The Past_

_It had been days. Days spent immersed in the world history of madness. Days locked up in the Home's library, reading scrolls and books, pretending that he understood any of it. He wasn't sure whether he should be pleased by his confusion or not; was this one of those cases where insanity could only be understood by the insane? But that would be a disservice to the people who put their efforts into trying to unlock the code._

_Then again, the Fire Nation's knowledge of the human mind was superior to the other nations only because past Fire Lords didn't see any need to place limits on what its nobles could do in the name of appeasing 'curiosity.'_

_Sokka continued his reading, making his way through an account of a young man afflicted by "melancholy," who was given a treatment of regularly drinking Qi-enhancing tea when doctors decided that the problem lay in a lack of "inner fire." He seemed to improve after that- his Firebending even grew from its previous weak state to something more normal for someone his age- and the doctor was heralded as a genius by the patient's wealthy father. It all seemed to be going very well up to the point where the young man killed himself for no reason that anyone could discern. The accounted ended with a note that the young man's father petitioned the Fire Lord to have the doctor banished._

_Sokka sighed. He would be adding Qi-enhancing tea to a list of unviable treatments that already included periods of sensory deprivation, forced expressions of physical affection, and drilling pressure-relieving holes in the skull._

_He moved on to the next book, a collection of academic papers assembled and bound for the Home's reference. Like the others of its kind, it was labeled with a number instead of a title; there was an index somewhere detailing the library's full contents, but Sokka scarcely remembered which titles had originally caught his interest all those days ago. Opening the book, he dived in and hoped for buried treasure._

_The first thing that caught Sokka's interest was the author of the first paper in the volume. The name of Dong Min seemed familiar, in some vague way._

_Then he saw what this professor of Ba Sing Se had theorized, decades ago. What interesting, horrifying theories..._

_Treasure, indeed._

* * *

The Present

Sokka had asked Aang to wait just outside, in the main hallway of the healer's building. His presence would only agitate the 'patient.'

The prisoner.

Zuko walked into the darkened room first, Sokka right behind him. They left the door open, and the light from the hallway fell upon the single bed and the wheezing man lying in it. He was bare-chested, the sheets pulled up only as far as his waist, and his sweaty, gleaming skin contrasted oddly with the raw burn wounds scattered over him.

As the young men approached, Ozai turned his face away from the light and barked a pained laugh. "And now the Fire Lord comes from halfway across the world to see me. I am honored beyond all others. One would think you almost care about me."

Sokka glanced at Zuko, but with his hair unbound and the only source of light directly behind him, he wore a shadow in place of his face. "You're the last person I care about in this world," Zuko said, "but you have information about people who _do _actually concern me. Like Azula. And whatever masters have turned you into their pet dog."

Ozai made a sound that could have been a laugh or a cough to Sokka's ear. "And who have you brought with you? I recall seeing a _boy _who tied his hair back like that, the day the Avatar touched me. Is he the one who's been taking advantage of Azula's confusion to help himself to her?"

Sokka's fists clenched and his stomach flipped simultaneously. He was torn between emotions, wanting to deny the phrasing of the accusation even as he worried how Zuko would react to the grain of truth within.

Zuko's gaze remained solidly on Ozai. "And everything you've done is in Azula's best interest? If I believed for a second that you were capable of caring for someone other than yourself, I'd have to wonder why Azula left you behind. Why she felt the need to hurt you the way she did."

Ozai turned to look at them, finally. Sokka's stomach took another turn as he got an eyeful of the main injury, and he was glad that being backlit would keep his face hidden. He imagined he looked rather sickened right now. He glanced again at Zuko, but the Fire Lord was still stoic. In retrospect, it was a good thing that the healers had described the wound to them ahead of time.

Ozai bore a fresh burn where his right eye should have been visible, vaguely shaped like a human hand and extending up over the hairline and out to shrivel the ear. Where Zuko's own scar was dry and rough, Ozai's was a weeping mess yet.

He stared at his scarred son and said, "You cannot fathom my thoughts and cares. You are Fire Lord, but you still think like a child. That's why you gave our nation's colonies away. You didn't see that they were like children to the Fire Nation. If a parent coddles the child, values the child's successes above their own, both are weakened. A child has to be made strong. If a failure, the child should be discarded. If a success, the child should be put to use." Ozai pushed himself to sit up, never turning his face away. "And when the parent is no longer strong, it is up to the child to take up the role. Azula is now coming along quite nicely, despite your considerable interference. Bask in that knowledge, and celebrate it."

Sokka crossed his arms and finally spoke up. "That was very pretty. Bravo! Either you spent a long time on the trip here to Kyoshi coming up with that, or you have a real talent for trotting philosophy-soundy-stuff out of your sad, sad little backside. How about you explain the part where being such a good father and trying to ruin Azula's new life was worth The Invisible Hand breaking you out of prison and smuggling you over here."

"The Invisible Hand," Ozai drawled, still looking at Zuko. "Did the savage come up with that himself?"

Zuko said nothing.

Ozai sighed and leaned back in the bed, finally turning his face away again. "People came to me and asked if I could provide chaos. I said I could not, but I knew of one who could, most ably. People still talk, Fire Lord. Especially to me."

Sokka was sure that Ozai wouldn't be able to see, but still raised his eyes mockingly. "Oh, wow. That's helpful. Zuko, did you know that random guards and servants who have contact with your father _knew_ about Azula being out here? Gee, I wish we had thought of the idea that people _can talk _when we first set all this up. I don't know how we missed it. Just think, all kinds of secrets about the state of the world and your policy decisions might be out there, right now."

Zuko gave a grunt that was his equivalent of a chuckle. "If we're not going to get any trustworthy information, we have no reason to be here. Last chance. Who is masterminding this?"

Ozai snorted. "Your mother. Have you found her yet? She's this 'Invisible Hand' you speak of. She had me free Azula. Go ask her what this is all about." He waved a hand dismissively.

Zuko made a retching sound and turned away. "Never mind. Let's go."

Both young men walked out together, and found Aang waiting right where they left him, smiling sadly. "We had to try," he whispered. "Maybe he'll change his mind and offer us something useful before we have to go. But for now, we need to talk about what we're going to do."

Zuko nodded, and let Aang lead the way out of the healing house. As they approached the door, Sokka caught Zuko leaning over to the head nurse and hissing, "Do what you can for him, but I won't be upset if that isn't very much."

* * *

_The Past_

_Sokka had rehearsed his speech at least a dozen times, to the point where he could recite it without even looking at his notes. He had paid for copies to be made of the referenced articles, enough for everyone. He was more than ready, but that didn't keep his stomach from swirling like a tempest the whole time he talked. That it was his friends who were giving him this feeling made it even worse. Some of them looked at him with confused expressions, others flipped through the copies of Dong Min's theories. Mai fingered her knives._

_Still, he powered on, and described his plan to turn Azula into a new girl who could go away somewhere and just be happy._

_When he finished, Katara was the first to speak. "Are you on cactus juice again?!"_

_"I-"_

_"This is insane," Zuko growled._

_"It-"_

_"It sounds like a kind of torture," Ty Lee said, hugging herself._

_"She'd-"_

_Toph slammed a fist down on the table, sending an echo through the Fire Lord's throne room. "I don't even get how any of this would work!"_

_"The-"_

_"I bet it wouldn't work," Mai pronounced. "She'd wake up one day, remember she's actually Azula, and then kill everyone she sees."_

_"No-"_

_"Sokka." Aang's voice was a cooling wind that cut through the heat of the moment. "We all have a lot of questions about this. But first, how about you tell us why you actually want to do this?"_

_Sokka sighed with worry and happiness. Good ol' Aang. "I've talked it over with Lady Bokujin and her doctors at the Home. I don't think this is a good thing, exactly, but I think it's the best we have to work with." He motioned at the Fire Lord. "Zuko had a chance to get away from his father, and he had his Uncle to help him figure out who he really was. He got a chance to see things beyond the world of lies where he came from. He had a chance to take a new name, and live like an actual human being."_

_Sokka turned to look at Zuko. "But your sister didn't have that chance. And now she never will. She broke, and we don't have the pieces we need to fix her. This is the best I can do to make it up to her."_

_No one made a sound. Then, leaning forward, Zuko said, "If we go along with this, we would need controls. Someone we trust to watch over the process. Someone to watch over Azula even after the treatments are done, and if I'm reading these papers right, reinforce the programming. And a contained environment that we could control, right down to the population."_

_Sokka nodded. "I'd oversee everything. I have the months to spare. And I have some ideas about where we would eventually put her, but we can discuss it."_

_Ty Lee sat up. "I guess... I... I'd help, if we decide to do it. We used to be friends, a while ago, and I'd like to fix that. If I can."_

_Mai snorted. "So, let me get this straight. We'd be doing all this effort, half this table would get their moral hackles up about it, and the best-case scenario is that Azula gets to be a happy girl somewhere. Worst-case scenario is that the whole thing falls apart, people die, and a new scourge is unleashed on the world. Gee, what a decision."_

_Aang cleared his throat with a look around. "I already took her Firebending. How much harm could she do?" He looked down to his lap, and slumped in his seat so profoundly that Katara felt the need to put her arm around him. "I thought I was doing a good thing by taking Ozai's Firebending," he said softly. "And I think I was right, but he was so broken afterwards, that when I did the same to Azula, I tried to make it… gentler." He blinked. Once. Twice. "That obviously didn't work out, and now it's looking more and more like it would have been better to let her be killed. I think I made a mistake." He looked back up, and gray eyes met Sokka's blue. "I'm willing to fix that mistake, if it would really work. I support your plan."_

_Sokka nodded. "Thanks. Dong Min said that he'll need to do some Qi-therapy on her, to complete the transformation. We could use your help with that."_

_There was another long moment of silence. Everyone's eyes were on Zuko. Calm under the scrutiny, he stood up and said, "I want to talk to Dong Min. I want a full plan with all the details before the treatments begin. I want you to give the same speeches to the Earth King, Chief Arnook, and your father and get their approval, too. The home we eventually choose for her will get an overriding vote as well. And I can end this whole thing at any point if I decide I don't like it." Sokka nodded to all that. Zuko leaned forward and said, "And I want you to tell me that this is the only way to save my sister."_

_Sokka stood as well. "I truly think this is the only way to avoid us indirectly killing Azula."_

_Reluctantly, the rest gave in, one by one._

* * *

The Present

"Again," Mai said as she sat down at the conference table in Kyoshi Island's central meeting hall, "I just want it clear that I was completely right."

"You didn't predict the part about her randomly getting her Firebending back," Toph noted.

Mai shrugged. "Details, details."

Katara glared at them and remained standing at her place at the table. "Are you two done?"

Neither one replied.

Aang took his own place. "That's actually a good point to begin with. Does anyone have any idea about how that could have happened? I'm all Avatared out on that subject right now."

Sokka shrugged and shifted his chair. "_You're _the guy with the no-Bending-touchy powers. If you don't know, then I can only think of maybe one or two people in the world who would."

Zuko nodded from his place beside Mai. "I've sent notes to Uncle and the most learned Fire Sages. We can go to the Sun Warriors as well. But however it happened, our main concern needs to be the danger Azula presents. She's back, and she's worse than ever."

"No!" Ty Lee jumped to her feet so quickly she almost hit the ceiling. In the past, such a move would have sent her braid bouncing, but her unwanted shorter haircut wasn't affected by the motion. "She's confused! And feeling betrayed! I don't think she really wants to hurt people, she just reacted to what she thought was danger. Like when Appa sees a torch."

Katara shook her head. "Even if that's true, our responsibility is to the people she's hurt, and might hurt. Sick animals are put down when they become a danger. We need to consider the same."

"Hey!" Sokka didn't even realize he was speaking until everyone turned to stare at him. "Suki is _not_ an animal! She's a person, just like all those people you want to 'protect' from her. We need to keep that in mind, whatever we decide. We need to help _her_, too."

"See, this is half the problem," Katara retorted, throwing her hands out. "You had to keep poking at the situation, coming to visit here, no matter how many times we warned you. Maybe that's the real reason Ozai was able to do what he did, because you were messing around where we all told you _shouldn't _be!"

"We can't forget how Zuko took her back to the Fire Nation that one time," Toph said. She crossed her arms and added, "We said from the beginning that we were gonna put a whammo on Azula to fix her, and drop her where the whole world could forget about her. I don't remember anyone saying that Zuko could borrow her as a bodyguard when things like the Yu Dao crisis is going on. Never mind whatever Sokka was borrowing her for."

"**_Stop it!_**" Aang's voice echoed with the power of an Airbending Master, pushing everyone who was standing back into their seats. Sokka's butt hit the wooden chair hard. "This is exactly what the Invisible Hand wants. Whatever their plan is in the colonies, whatever the reason they sent Ozai here to awaken Azula, I have to think that part of it was to hit us where our teamwork is weak. We have to focus on how to fix the situation, and keep as many people from getting hurt as possible."

Sokka found himself nodding. That's why the kid was the Avatar. "We need to track Azula down, and bring her in gently."

"I agree that we need to track her down," Zuko said, "and I had hoped we could have saved my sister with all of this, but we failed. She's a danger to the world, the situation in the colonies, and the throne. Whoever or whatever is causing all the chaos there, this 'Invisible Hand,' has finally revealed themselves. We couldn't even be sure that someone was controlling everything, but this finally proves it. My father was released and aimed here with precision, and the people who did it knew about Azula, one of our most guarded secrets."

"So we nail Azula, and then we nail them when they're vulnerable." Toph pounded fist and hand together. "I like it."

Sokka looked around the table. "But what about Suki?" He flinched at the glares everyone sent back to him. "I mean Azula."

Zuko glared at him with the same intensity that Ozai had mustered before. "My sister is an unfortunate failure on our part. She's a criminal, a fugitive, and a danger to everyone in the world. My forces will have orders to use all due force, and I'll be recommending that the Earth King give the same order to his own people. And the bounties will allow for dead or alive."

Sokka looked around to see heads nodded around the table, some vigorous, some sad. He realized that there would be no salvation here, not for him, and not for Suki. Azula. He couldn't even bring himself to hate his friends for it. He knew that, if he were thinking like he used to, he would be agreeing with their logic. They were right, he had made a horrible mistake, but… but that didn't mean that their way wasn't also a mistake. He looked around the table, and everyone met his eyes with confidence.

Except one.

After everyone else filed out of the room, Sokka made straight for Ty Lee. "Do you," he said, "want to save her as much as I do?"

The Kyoshi acrobat choked back a sob. She crossed her arms over her green dress and nodded.

Sokka smiled. "Then I'm leaving tonight. Ahead of everyone else. Want to come?" He held out his hand, waiting.

She reached out and clasped his wrist in the traditional Water Tribe affirmation of trust. Then she slid her hand up and held his own with a strength few people knew she had.

He had a plan, and a partner. Time to go save Suki.

Azula.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	6. Entering the Crucible

**Entering the Crucible**

In her dreams, she was still Suki.

She could feel the facepaint on her skin, and the comforting weight of her armor on her body. The heavy chest guard had never been a burden to her, not with the cunningly layered silk dress beneath it to provide padding and breathable comfort. It was all like a second skin to her, and that was appropriate, as she had worn the uniform since before she could remember. Her dreams guided her away from the blank spots in her memory like she was floating on a gentle stream, letting her pretend that she truly was who she wanted to be. The currents ran all around her, and she could feel her mind extending into the mists of time with ease.

Her Kyoshi Warriors were clustered a few paces in front of her, and she recognized the surroundings as the lush lands outside of Ba Sing Se. They had found and cared for Appa, here, as a group. As friends. She looked at her Kyoshi Warriors, at their painted faces, and felt the comfort of their sisterhood.

Then they all screamed and attacked her.

Enemy, they called her as they grabbed her, yanking her war fans out of their places in her belt. Chijin, Hanuke, Reppai, Kosokoso, Kowagaru, Soregashi, Aijou, and all the others. They tore at her dress, labeling her with the dreaded title of Foreigner as they ripped the gold out of the silk and smeared her facepaint with their gloved hands. She tried to tell them that she was their friend, their leader, but their painted faces were twisted with hate as they dragged her within the Kyoshi training dojo, somehow transplanted to the mainland. They hauled her over to a large bucket set in the center of the main room and, yanking her by her hair, held her head over the bucket. Suki saw her reflection in the muddy water within.

Or rather, her lack of a reflection.

Where her facepaint was wiped away, she had no face.

There was just a nothingness, like she ceased to exist wherever Suki's visage had been removed. She gazed down at her dress, and wherever it was ripped, the phenomenon persisted; she saw not her own flesh, but shadows and empty air. She looked once again at her reflection in the filthy water, seeking to find some sign of the person beneath the facade.

Instead, the water turned to crimson blood, and her reflection twisted into that of Ozai. He screamed as blue fire sizzled and shriveled the skin over his right eye. Suki shrieked and flinched away, and she no longer felt the hands of her Kyoshi Warriors on her. She fell to the floor of the dojo, knocking the bucket over and spilling the sticky blood all over the wooden boards. It flooded, never stopping, and soaked into her uniform, ruining the smooth feel of the silk. Now, all she felt was wet, sticky ash all over her skin.

Then the voices started.

Azula, Sokka said.

Suki looked up from the bloody floor, and founds his boots in front of her. Her gaze followed his legs up, but she didn't have the strength to lift herself. She could only look up at his scowling face and tell him, No.

He growled, Fire Nation. Then Suki realized that he was holding her katana; he stabbed it down and pinned her right hand to the bloody floor. She felt the impact of the blade, and her hand burst into blue flame.

Always a threat, Zuko said. Suki turned her head to find the Fire Lord standing to her side. He held his two Dao blades, and remorselessly stabbed each one down, the first into her left hand, the other at the small of her back. Blue fire sprung up at each point where the metal cleaved her flesh.

No peace while my sister lives, Zuko said. Suki tried to cry out, to deny that she was anything but his friend, but instead of sound, blue fire vomited out of her mouth and wouldn't stop. The blood around her boiled at its touch, and she couldn't shut her mouth against it.

Then Suki felt a soft hand caressing her, and she turned to her other side to find Ty Lee kneeling beside her in the blood. The blue flames melting out of Suki's mouth pooled around her old friend, but didn't touch the acrobat. The Kyoshi Warrior uniform she wore resisted them easily.

It's okay, Ty Lee said, Aang is here to turn the fire off forever.

Suki began trembling, and she didn't even know why. Aang approached out from somewhere out of sight, walking atop the sea of blood without disturbing it. He eyes and arrows flashed to glowing life, and as he approached, he extended a hand.

No, Suki moaned, Keep the cold away from me.

Sokka said, You deserve it.

Zuko said, Liars must be frozen.

Ty Lee said, Just relax.

Suki tried to scream, but all she could do was gag on the fountain of flames that spilled from within her.

* * *

Azula awoke slowly, wearily. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but it obviously wasn't long enough. Or perhaps it had been, and there was simply no rest to be found in the nightmares. She looked around the cargo hold of the ship, filled with boxes of Ba Sing Se wine, and saw a shaft of light shining down from the portal to the deck. The sun had just set when she came down here; it must be tomorrow already.

She had slept through the storm.

Azula rose from her crouch amidst the crates and stretched, moving slow to accommodate the motion of the boat on the waves. Ty Lee's field-dress, a pink affair with full pants beneath the slit skirt, moved easily with her. It was no Kyoshi Warrior uniform, but she no longer had any right to that.

No. She no longer _deigned to honor _that uniform with her Majesty. She was Azula now, Princess of Fire. Time to start acting like it, whatever she felt. Never mind that this dress was stolen peasant-wear; Ty Lee had betrayed her, and she deserved everything she had gotten. She did. Azula would find more appropriate clothing when she got to where she was going.

Wherever that was.

Her quick exercise finished, Azula made for the stairs that would take her abovedecks. It was time to deal with her new situation. She blinked as she rose into the sun, but her eyes quickly adjusted. She saw people moving about, young men doing as sailors do. They weren't military, weren't economical enough in their motions, but they were still quick and sure with their work. One of the deckhands spotted her, and immediately bowed. "Commander Suki. Good morning. The Captain asked to see you when you were ready." The sailor's voice was high in tone; he must be younger than he looked, although he had a good height and, from what she could tell under the long sleeves and pants of his green tunic, was well muscled. He looked up and gave her a small smile. "Um, that's a very nice dress. I like the color."

Azula blinked once, and decided she was in no state to deal with whatever that was supposed to be. "Thank you. Please take me to the Captain."

"Right away, Commander." He abandoned the rigging he had been working, and waved her along towards the stern. It was a large, wide vessel, optimized for hauling cargo on deep seas.

Something suddenly occurred to Azula. "What is this ship's name? I saw it on Captain Toru's papers a while ago, but..." She shrugged.

The deckhand turned his head and offered her a grin. "Welcome aboard the 'Hidden Gem,' Commander." He moved along the deck, around the four masts. Azula knew that this wasn't an unusual design for the larger cargo junks, and today the sails were arranged to catch more of the wind for greater speed. The previous night, before she headed belowdecks to keep out of everyone's way as they prepared for the storm, the sails had been faced to the side to avoid the high winds.

Captain Toru was found next to the ship's rudder, leaning over a collapsible table. As she approached, Azula could see that he had a collection of detailed nautical maps spread out over the surface, most of them showing parts of the Earth Kingdom's Western coasts. He looked up at her and smiled. "Ah, here's our Kyoshi Commander. Good morning to you."

"Good morning, Captain Toru." She bowed formally at the waist, making the Earth Kingdom sign of respect with her hands. "Thank you once again for assisting me."

He nodded, scratching one of his bushy gray eyebrows. "We had a time with that storm last night, but I think it turned northwest. We were running away from it before it got too bad. The motion didn't bother you?"

Azula shrugged. "I had a fitful sleep, but didn't wake."

"Good, good." He turned back to his maps. "So, we were running away from a storm, but now I need to know where I'm running _to_."

Azula quietly took a deep breath, willing her body to calm. This would be the tricky part, and she had to have perfect control not just of herself, but the people she would be lying to. "Honestly, Captain, I don't have a specific destination for you." Toru looked up sharply at her, and the deckhand (was he still hanging round?) made a noise of surprise. Azula let a little of her own sense of uncertainty bubble up to the surface, and continued, "I knew my quarry fled Kyoshi Island, and that if she got too much of a head-start, she'd be impossible to ever track down again, but I don't know where exactly she thinks she's going. She's a fugitive, now, so her possibilities must be limited."

Toru nodded slowly, and shared a glance with his deckhand. "She must have been on one of those boats from the first wave of evacuees. Have any ships been spotted on the horizon, _lad_?"

The deckhand shook his head. "Not since sunup, but if the ship we're chasing used the storm winds to get some early speed..."

Toru leaned heavily back over his maps. "Aye, catching them will be no easy trick. I'm sorry, Commander, but this might be a lost cause. Perhaps we should head back to Kyoshi and get proper word out-"

"_No_," Azula interrupted. "Our opponent is too smart for that. We need to figure out where she'll go and find her before she begins the next stage of her flight. She'll know exactly how the other Kyoshi Warriors will hunt her, so our only chance is to take her by surprise and catch her while she's hurrying and at her sloppiest."

Toru and the deckhand exchanged another set of glances. "Um," the captain said, "_who _exactly are we hunting, again?"

Azula gave a deep, theatrical sigh. "You need to know so that we can hunt her effectively, but I must swear you both to secrecy on this matter." They each gave her a solemn nod. Hardening her gaze, Azula continued, "Our fugitive is a Firebender who we had been harboring amongst the Kyoshi Warriors."

Her two-member audience inhaled sharply at that, and Azula wonder what assumptions they were making. Looking away from them at the rudder, she let herself feel some of the pain of all the betrayals. "I can't give you the details, but we believed this girl had truly turned away from Ozai's cause and wanted to live in peace. We're not sure what set her off, but she apparently decided that she no longer wanted our good will, and escaped in a way designed to confuse and demoralize any pursuit."

The deckhand shifted from foot to foot. "Could she be working for the conservative dissenters in the Fire Nation? The ones who oppose Fire Lord Zuko?"

Azula pretended to consider that, turning a thoughtful look at the shifting seas. "Unlikely. Her options for keeping in contact with such people would have been limited, and if she had organized support like that, her escape would have been smoother and subtler. Certainly, she never showed any signs of it."

Toru flipped through his maps, arranging a certain set so that they were all visible. "The colonies, then. The Earth Kingdom is too dangerous for rogue Firebenders, but the colonies are mixed up enough now for anyone to disappear. Firebenders and Earthbenders both can live there, and all the troubles lately mean that travelers and indigents don't get asked questions."

"Hm." Azula had to keep a smile of satisfaction off her face. "That makes sense. Can you tell me what ports she'd be most likely to make for? And how she might avoid any security measures?"

Silence met her question. Azula turned back to look at the pair, and their demeanor set off all of her policing instincts. The deckhand looked like he was thinking of an excuse to leave, shifting in preparation of movement. Toru was paling, looking at her with a growing expression of fear.

Keeping here eyes wide and innocent, Azula said, "Look, Captain, this is more important than any little smuggling infractions you might be afraid of. Any... bent rules or suspicious knowledge that come to light during the pursuit of this fugitive will be overlooked on my part, and any Kyoshi Warriors. I'm just concerned with stopping the traitor before she hurts more people, like-" She swallowed, and the lump in her throat wasn't fake at all. "Like that _monster _did on Kyoshi Island."

Toru and the deckhand exchanged glances once more, and then the Captain sighed. "We... uh, we might know a bit about the dangerous parts of the colonies, and people who are looking to employ individual Firebenders there. Can we- can we trust you, Commander?"

Azula blinked. She had been hoping that these sailors could simply get her someplace where she could disappear for a while. What had she stumbled upon? "Please, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe," Toru said, "my daughter should explain."

"Daughter?"

The deckhand bowed, and offered a shaky smile. "I am Meisai, and I have sailed with my father for half a year now." He- _She _straightened, and snapped her hands together to produce a small tongue of flame cupped in her joined palms. "I am also a Firebender, a criminal for betraying the Fire Lord."

* * *

The _Hidden Gem _was making its way up the Western coast of the Earth Kingdom, keeping land just within sight. This was purely a practical matter, as it made navigating easier than sailing the deeper, featureless seas. Also, the winds were favorable, and even if they failed, the Gulf Stream that ran from the gulf opposite Foggy Swamp up to The Crucible would carry the ship along quickly.

Azula and Meisai sat together at the bow of the ship. It moved rapidly, cutting and bobbing through the waves. Azula looked out at the waters ahead and asked, "Why do they call it The Crucible?"

"I don't know if it had any other name before, but they began calling it that during the war. That's where the Outermost islands of the Fire Nation come closest to the Earth Kingdom, and the arrangements of the peninsulas there form a sea in the wider ocean. Most of the naval battles between the two nations occurred there, and at times the fighting became very heavy. Most of the tales of ship-to-ship battles happened in The Crucible."

Azula pondered that. "It must have been the Fire Nation sailors to first give it that name."

Meisai shrugged.

The pair continued to sit in silence. Azula's thoughts were turned inward, but she couldn't escape the influence of the Fire Nation. She supposed she had to start thinking of them as her people, now, but she wasn't sure she even had a people at all. She couldn't trust anyone, because she didn't _know _anyone.

The memories swirled in her head, a mix of perspectives that spanned both sides of the old war. She remembered key points in the story of the Avatar's victory over the Fire Nation, even when he and... his friends... weren't present with her in those memories. Where had they come from? On the other hand, she _knew_the Fire Nation. She knew that they had coined the phrase 'The Crucible,' and knew the fervor with which they would have pushed their metal warships to join the battles there.

How could a girl from an isolated little fishing island know the enemy that well?

She had to find out who she really was, and what happened to her.

Azula found herself saying, "What is it like, hiding your Fire?"

Meisai looked at her. "By itself, it isn't hard. The exercises I do sustain me, let me grow and manage my Inner Fire without requiring me to actually Firebend. Sometimes, when I'm alone, I'll summon a flame, but only on this boat. My father and the rest of the crew all know who I am, and accept me. I just don't like to discomfort them with the sight of me actually Firebending."

"Where is your father from, originally?" Meisai hesitated, and Azula grew worried. "I'm sorry, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it. It's just-" How could she explain how much she needed to know all this? "The girl we're chasing. It might be important. In case she hides."

Meisai shook her head. "It's all right. I actually don't know where my father came from originally. One of the ports on the Earth Kingdom's coast. Maybe even Kyoshi Island; we stop there often enough. He's been sailing all his life. He met my mother in the colonies, though. Had to."

Azula held back a sigh. Who were her own parents? A faceless pair of people who perished in some mudslide? Or a missing murderer and the man she- Azula shook her head against the memories of holding her hand against his face while he screamed. "And you chose to follow your mother's path. Until Fire Lord Zuko took over."

"It's not that- I don't like _war_." Meisai looked down at the deck of the boat, and fiddled with a coil of rope tucked into the foremost corner of the bow. "But my mother raised me in the colonies, where it was peaceful. I thought it was a good thing to bring peace and civilization to the rest of the Earth Kingdom. so I joined the Army. When Fire Lord Zuko took power, and ended things... I was _mad_. Especially after the Yu Dao incident."

Azula listened very carefully.

Meisai continued, "The group I found said that they were fighting to protect the colonies. We just had to attack in certain places, according to certain plans, and we could make sure that the colonies survived and continued to grow the way the Fire Nation had intended for them, even without the Fire Lord's support. But when we found ourselves fighting Fire Nation soldiers, hurting our own colonists... I couldn't go back to the Fire Nation, I was a deserter and a traitor. But my father was there for me, when I needed him."

Azula marshaled her thoughts away from the smell of cooking skin and muscle. She knew of the chaos in the colonies, of course; Kyoshi Island was seeing enough refugees lately to make the larger situation impossible to miss. This was the first she heard of an organized resistance, though. It might not be too widespread, yet, but they were people opposed to Zuko, people with no loyalty to the Earth Kingdom. Perhaps Zuko's new enemies would be able to help her figure out her true past. She wouldn't tell them her true agenda, of course, but she was _Princess Azula_, and they would serve her needs regardless.

It might take years to restore herself, and she had to start building somewhere.

Pushing all that aside for now, Azula turned back to her companion. "But why do you dress up like a boy, even on the ship?"

Meisai blinked back at her. "Because I want to!"

"Uh, what about the people who mistake you for..."

"So what? I'm comfortable." Meisai smiled broadly and leaned back against the bulwarks. "This is my identity, not my disguise."

Azula snorted. "What's the difference?"

"Heh. Good point. I really like your dress, though. Pink looks good on you. I bet all the red tones go well with your hair. It's very special."

Azula turned away to look out at the waves again, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Could you... do you think you could teach me those exercises you do?"

"Your fugitive wasn't the only Firebender hiding on Kyoshi, huh?" Meisai leaned forward, and Azula tensed her whole body. The other girl looked her straight in the eyes, all cheer gone from her face. "You can't hide a Fire, Commander Suki. Not from one who already knows how. I'll teach you, just like I'll help you catch the one who betrayed what we both have chosen to stand for."

* * *

Their morning exercise sessions had become a routine when they encountered the first patrols.

Every day at sunrise, Meisai and Azula met on the main deck. The entire crew actually knew some form of martial arts, but each one handled their own practices around their shifts working the boat. Some even sparred on the deck, when things weren't busy. "That's something I encourage," Toru had explained to Azula one day. "Footwork is the most important part of fighting, and if pirates ever board, my crew will have the advantage in movement thanks to their practice."

No one else did exercises like Meisai's, though, and Azula could immediately feel why. She had been forced to improvise on Kyoshi Island when trying to harness her newly discovered (_rediscovered_) Firebending, but she could feel how the moves Meisai was teaching her could channel her Inner Fire into external flames. They were different from the fighting styles used by the Kyoshi Warriors, all snapping movements and hard hits. It would only take an extension of will to turn the motion into Firebending. Azula made sure to _never _actually do so, though. Only one person alive was known for blue flames.

But she was learning. It wasn't easy yet, but her body was learning.

Azula spotted the other ships in the distance after she landed on the deck out of a flying roundhouse kick. Meisai followed her gaze and let out a heavy breath. "Those are militia crafts. With the colonies all divided, they can't organize a real navy, so each port city has put together its own little fleet for protection. We have an even chance of being shaken down for bribes and turned away anyway, or simply checked and given proper transit papers. Maybe they caught your fugitive already."

Azula felt her heartbeat speed up. This could be a complication. "They patrol the whole Crucible? They catch all the traffic going in?"

"It's not a full blockade, if that's what you mean," Meisai shrugged. "But we're on the fastest way through, which the patrols definitely know about. If your fugitive went the long way, we might beat her to the major ports."

Azula licked her lips. A messenger hawk could have traveled here by now from Kyoshi Island, as well as a Sky Bison, depending on where they had to come from. The militia-sailors probably wouldn't recognize her, but there was a chance, and Azula didn't leave anything to chance. That's why she was perfect.

"And what are the odds," Azula said slowly, "that these militias will allow a foreign law-enforcement agent to go searching through their territory for a dangerous Firebender who she had harbored for a while?"

"Huh." Meisai looked back to where her father was coming up out of the cargo hold. "Maybe we should have you stay out of sight for the inspection. You can't exactly pass as a sailor. No offense."

"None taken. I know a bad disguise when I see one."

* * *

Azula couldn't hear the negotiations abovedecks, but the sound of armored footsteps was unmistakable as they moved down the wooden stairs. She crouched in the shadows between the crates of wine, and wished she was wearing something other than bright pink. The sounds stopped at the base of the stairs. "Open that one," a deep male voice said.

"Sure thing," came Toru's voice. There was a sound of stressed wood, a pop, and the rustle of hay. "See, all the crates have bottles like this. Would you like a sample?"

"We'll just do a few more random checks, then we'll give you your stamps."

The footsteps started again, heading deeper into the hold. From the sounds of the movement, the inspectors seemed to be heading her way, and the crates were not stacked in a way that left many avenues for escape. Azula rose from her crouch, carefully distributing her weight in accordance with her Kyoshi training so as to stay silent.

"That one," came the deep voice from around a bend.

Azula waited, again heard the stressed wood, and jumped at the moment when the lid popped off. She grabbed the crate behind her with both hands and swung herself over to the other side, landing in another crouch that minimized the sound of her deceleration. It was just like moving silently across the trees and rooftops back on Kyoshi.

There was a grunt, and the footsteps started again, still moving with slow nonchalance.

Still moving closer.

Azula shifted out of her low crouch, in case she had to move again. She hoped she wouldn't, as a moving pink blur was only going to draw the eye. But if she stayed where she was, would they see her through the gaps in the crates' siding?

They were _close_, now. Too close to risk movement. How could she-

"That one. Last one," the voice said. The crate right above Azula's head shuddered with movement.

She dropped into the lowest bow-stance her body was capable of. Meisai had taught her this one; it was used to shoot flames at an opponent's feet, below what most defensive stances could block. The crate being inspected was a full handspan above the top of her head.

The lid popped off the crate, and a bottle was pulled out of the hay. "All right, this looks good, too. Let's head up and get you your stamps."

The steps retreated, and Azula's breath remained as regular as a properly pulsing flame.

* * *

The _Hidden Gem_put into the docks at Buui Mun just after noon, but Azula waited until midnight to depart. She met one last time with Toru and Meisai on the deck of their ship, bowing as deeply as she could. "For everything you've done- for me, for my mission- you have my lasting gratitude." She rose, smiled, and considered killing them both and setting the boat on fire.

It would have been the smart thing to do. Murder and arson would draw attention, but it was less of a risk than letting these people go with knowledge of 'Suki's' destination, believing her to be a secret Firebender. Princess Azula would have weighed the risks, and made the dispassionate choice.

But she didn't _want _to.

Captain Toru bowed back. "Good luck on your mission, Commander Suki. If you need any more help, I'll be here for a while, selling my cargo and looking to pick up a new one."

Meisai took Azula's hands in her own. "Look for the Hidden Flame. No matter where she goes or how she tries to hide, we know our own."

Azula simply nodded. If she decided she wanted to disappear, that was the last advice that would be helpful to her. On the other hand, if she would rather seek the company and support of her fellow exiles- her fellow _criminals_- the Hidden Flame might just become her new calling.

Azula gave one last wave as she moved down the gangplank. It would be so easy to turn that hand motion into a call for fire, to fling it at both sailors. Then, while they writhed in pain, she would hit various points on the boat, making sure that it would soon be fully aflame. The blue fire would turn to red before anyone realized what was going on, and long before that, Azula would have disappeared into the sleepy city. It would be so easy. She could picture it all in her head, right down the sound Toru and Meisai would make as her fire ate away at their bodies...

Stilling her hand, Azula stepped off the gangplank, and left all such thoughts behind her. She didn't want to hurt these people. She was Princess Azula. Her will was law.

Let the _rest _of the world fear her will.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	7. Journey of a Thousand Miles

**Journey of a Thousand Miles**

Azula awoke up in a flophouse, in a room with a dozen other women, and wondered if she had ever really lived in a palace.

She knew the Fire Nation's Royal Palace, of course. As Suki, she had even gone there to guard Zuko during the Yu Dao Rebellion and wound up taking control of the place's security for a time, proving quite adept at maintaining everyone's safety with a minimum of disruption. Or, at least, she thought she did. Who's to say how real that was? In the hazier parts of her mind, she had earlier experience with the place, though largely as background to the few memories that had returned since Ozai (Father) had 'freed' her. She still couldn't recall actually living there as a princess, wearing red robes and allowing servants to care for her like some kind of adult child.

The only thing she could be sure was real was the world around her, inconveniences and all. Perhaps her life as Suki was merely a dream, too, and she was simply a madwoman who invented new lives and memories for herself with every phase of the moon, letting the old ones eventually fade from her malfunctioning mind. It would actually be a relief, if Azula could make herself believe it, but life was just not that easy.

Given her current situation, that was just as well. Azula had a feeling that if she remembered being a pampered princess, she would have objected to sleeping on a filthy wooden floor with strangers. The bugs alone were bad enough, crawling over her in the night, but the smell of unwashed human bodies held no charm, either. But then, her own second-hand (at least) clothing was no better; it was almost enough to make her wish she hadn't traded Ty Lee's silly pink dress away for the brown robes.

The rising sun's light reflected off the sprawl of buildings outside the room's lone window. Azula rose from her spot, moving carefully so that she didn't disturb the other women. She was the only one getting up with the dawn, and she wasn't even sure of the reason. As a Kyoshi Warrior, she typically got up early when she wasn't working the occasional night shift, but it was also said that Firebenders naturally awoke with the dawn. Was this habit of hers a development from the Firebending training that Azula had recently received from the sailor woman Meisai? Was Suki's old penchant for early mornings an expression of the Azula that had been locked inside of her?

How well did she truly know herself?

Azula could only shake her head against the uncertainty and the nausea that came with it. Trying to push against the dark corners of her mind made her feel ill.

Lost.

She stepped over the sleeping bodies, touching none of them, and reached the door. It swung with a creak, but then, it was a very creaky building. Azula was pleased to see that the hallway outside was empty. Last night, a man had decided to visit this room, finding something interesting about the fact that all the flophouse's female clients were lodged within. From the stink of him, he had been drunk, but he was an Earthbender and carried a stone hammer of significant weight. The other women had screamed as he pounded on the locked door, bellowing that they should open it for him.

Giving up hope that the situation would resolve itself, Azula had risen from the floor with a muttered, "For crying out loud, where's the City Watch?" Then she satisfied the man's impolitely phrased requests by unlocking the door and kicking it open so that it crashed into his face.

Being a drunk with a smashed nose, he hadn't offered any resistance as Azula then proceeded to give him the most professional beating he would ever likely receive. She started with the hand that held the hammer, catching his wrist in a precisely angled grip and applying just the right leverage to make him shriek with pain but not actually snap the twin bones in his forearm. Meisai's less physical training had paid off, too, since Azula was able to harness her Inner Fire into a thoroughly mundane pounding without ever feeling the urge- despite the annoyance the drunk presented- to light his face on fire. He had apparently taken her threat to do so seriously, though, given that he had not come back in the night.

The flophouse's proprietor was still at the front desk, if the rickety table right next to the entrance could be called such, but it was currently serving as the man's bed. He let out a little snore when Azula passed him by, but didn't stir. Azula ignored him and walked outside; she had paid for her room the night before with her last copper piece, and wished for no further business with the man.

The city that greeted her this morning had not improved overnight. Even at this early hour, people were out and about on business, entirely appropriate for a trading crossroads like the former Fire Nation colony of Yang. If Yu Dao was the bright jewel of the colonies made rich by fashioning sturdy and reliable personal weapons, Yang was its tarnished match, a city grown out of the large-scale smelting and die-cast manufacturing that went on in its smoke-spewing factories. While the Fire Nation had desired to keep the secrets of its military technology at home as much as possible, shipping everything over to the Earth Kingdom was impractical at best, and so the need for supplementary manufacturing in a few trusted colonies emerged. These days, Yang even produced goods for the civilian sector, provided the civilians in question had the money with which to pay.

Most of the residents of the city did not.

That wasn't to say the people lived in poverty, no matter the color they wore. As Azula walked the streets, she saw a mix of red and green, and while the red clothes were usually the ones in better repair, no one was ragged or dirty. It took a degree of skill to work in these factories and the pay reflected that, forming the foundation of a thriving economy and community. Yang once had its own mines for the raw metal, but they had been exhausted long before the war ended, and so much of the material had to be imported. That required large, well-kept roads, which in turn spawned plenty of trade that wasn't even necessarily related to the manufacturing sector. Even now, with Yang self-governed like the rest of the former colonies and the Fire Nation forces withdrawn from the Earth Kingdom's continent, the factories had lucrative contracts building tanks for Ba Sing Se and other wealthy cities. The city's continued prosperity was ensured.

Of course, 'prosperity' in a city such as this was subjective, especially to someone like Azula who was used to Kyoshi Island. She passed through a residential sector made up of cramped apartment buildings that ran into each other, making for something more like warrens than respectable housing. In the week she had spent in Yang, Azula had observed that food was plentiful but not fresh, and all kinds of pests thrived from the waste. The stink of garbage and human waste was omnipresent, the one exception being the actual factory districts, but the smells there were perhaps even worse.

Azula decided, right there on the street, that she disliked 'modern' cities. She could never live in one happily, and hopefully wouldn't be staying long. The only reason she was even here was to join a terrorist group that intended to blow one of those vaunted tank factories into smoke and ash.

* * *

Her search had started in the port of Buui Mun, as soon as she stepped off the _Hidden Gem _and left Toru and Meisai's company. As much as she would have liked to cut to the heart of the matter and begin kicking in doors looking for members of Meisai's old rebel group, she knew that would at best be fruitless and at worst get her killed. So she had found some temporary work as a bouncer at a large tavern with rowdy crowds, and merely listened to the news that filtered through the port.

"The Fire Lord is pushing to get his troops back into the colonies," a man complained one night in the dim lighting. "Something about hunting down fugitives, but you know it's just an excuse! That Zuko had to give in on the colonies, but he was clutching so hard that he left dents when they finally pried his hands off of them, and now he wants his soldiers back in here by any excuse he can think of."

The female who sat next to him at the bar appeared unimpressed to Azula's eye. "Ashes, I wish _someone_ would send some troops in here. I don't care if it's rutting _Chin the Conqueror_, we need some kind of protection."

"Bah," came the reply, "it's all mud on the boots. We can protect ourselves if the other nations keep their armies out." Although unimpressed with the man's intelligence, Azula maneuvered towards the pair as unobtrusively as she could.

"Protect ourselves from what? You hear about that attack out west?" The woman slammed her mug down on the bar. "The whole caravan was destroyed, all the carts burned to ash. Killed every single one of the merchants, but let most of the guards live. I heard one of them in here the other night, swearing that the dust-raker in command of the attackers was the Fire Nation's Princess _Azula_! And then there's the rumors I've heard about Kyoshi Island-"

The man burped. "The guard said, did he? And I suppose he used to be the Princess' consort, or something?"

"For your sand-brained information, _pal_, he used to a be trooper in the Fire Navy." The woman was on her feet now, tipsy enough to Azula's experienced eye (taverns were much the same back on Kyoshi Island) to be spoiling for a fight. "He tried to arrest the Princess' brother under her direct command."

"Oh, an ash-licker, huh? Well, why should I believe the salted up ramblings of a..." The man had gone on to disparage said trooper's personal habits, lineage, and employment prospects in impressively colorful language.

Azula had to step in when the woman threw her mug at the man, but it was still a good chunk of information. She kept her ears open and as the days passed she heard similar rumors, most featuring herself as major player in, if not the instigator of, the horrific attacks. All the assaults were purely destructive, but Azula couldn't help but notice that they all left behind talkative survivors.

Were Zuko and Aang spreading these lies about her to flush her out? Or was the plan just meant to turn the world against her, keep her from finding peace anywhere but the solitary wilderness. That's the type of cleverness of which Sokka might be capable.

And for the Fire Princess Azula, he might just be that cruel, too. Whenever she thought about that, Azula couldn't help but feel a pain deep in her chest.

Of course, all that talk was just unfounded rumor. Azula needed _facts_, so she took what money she had earned and hit the road.

* * *

It wasn't hard finding work as a caravan guard. People were getting scared. The only unfortunate part was that the convoys she wound up protecting went completely unmolested during their trips. Not that Azula wanted her clients to be attacked, necessarily, but it would have put her in easy contact with her prospective allies in the war against Zuko. Besides, she was sure she could have protected her caravans, probably even negotiated for them to be spared in exchange for her joining the attackers, and then worked within the bandit group in question to focus them on more important matters.

Probably.

So it was that Azula found herself traveling around quite a bit, arriving at a modest city in grain country just in time to witness a rather interesting rally. The city itself was at the center of a rather bountiful swath of farmland, and served as a giant farmer's market specializing in oats and such. It seemed, however, that quite a few farmers had recently suffered attacks from organized Firebender forces, and the rally was a public cry for something to be done.

Azula drew close to the chanting crowd but remained on the outskirts and observed. She eventually spotted one woman who seemed to be taking a strong interest in the proceedings but wasn't among those screaming their heads off, so Azula walked over to her and gave a quick bow. "Excuse me, ma'am, but can you tell me about the attacks? I only just arrived in the city."

The woman gave Azula a squint-eyed glance. "Oh, a refugee, huh? Guess you didn't pick so well. Should have headed for the coast. Anyway, not much to tell. Group of Firebenders hit some farms and burned their fields, seems to be just for the sheer fun of it. It's only happened a few times now, but we're scared. If something isn't done... we _depend_ on our fields! The whole province does!"

Azula nodded. "But why did they attack? They didn't steal anything? Who would do that?"

"Good job, kid. New to town and already you're asking the same questions all our elders are. All we know is that it's Firebenders, and it was just mindless destruction. Could be the Fire Lord ordering these things for all we know."

Azula bowed again. "Thank you, and good luck with all of this." She stuck around the rally, meandering through the crowds, curious if her name would be mentioned in conjunction with the attacks, but it never came up from any of the rally's speakers.

What _was _interesting, though, was that all the most fervent speakers were Firebenders who hid their heritage.

They all wore green and styled themselves like Earth Kingdom descendents, but Azula could tell the truth by the way they walked, and by the way her Inner Fire roared in time with their angry speeches. There was no doubt: these people had an Inner Fire all their own. A Hidden Flame. They were using their Firebending to influence the people, inflame hearts, and bring everyone's blood to a boil. The longer the rally went on, the louder the crowd got, and Azula's heart beat in time with the chants and the rants.

Though they weren't Firebending up on the stage, the speakers couldn't help but express what was hidden within them.

The last of the demagogues was focused on the need to unite the colonies under a single government, a new nation that owed nothing to the others. "Only we can protect ourselves without selling our souls to the Fire Lord or the fattened fools in Ba Sing Se! And only by uniting can we have the strength to hunt down the parasites within our borders, and keep the other nations out," he had said to great applause. The crowd was practically throbbing with heat and excitement, and Azula found herself sweating in the midst of it. The Fire in her heart was roaring. "We must find leaders of strength, and _give them the power to fight for our future!_"

It took a while for the crowds to finally disperse, but Azula left quickly after the final speech. After all, she had to follow that last speaker and find out what he was about.

While tailing him through the wide and busy streets of the city, through marketplaces filled with baskets of grains, Azula spotted no less than three people following and watching her in turn. All of them had bare feet, likely making them Earthbenders. Earthbenders who were, apparently, guarding a secret Firebender. The Earth Kingdom had the lowest percentage of Benders out of all the nations, and it was said that in the colonies the rate was even lower. People speculated that this was due to the Fire Nation's influence, but there was no way to verify that. Regardless, Earthbenders were not common enough in the area that anyone could to hire three of them for guards without some decent money.

Azula's mind worked with a speed that kept her blood boiling. This would be interesting.

Her Firebender target turned onto a small side street, and Azula was gratified to see the Earthbenders closing in on her as she continued to follow. They didn't waste time, either. As soon as they left other pedestrians behind, small slabs burst out of the ground around Azula's feet and converged into vice around her ankles.

Azula was never even off balance. "Finally. I was beginning to think you hadn't noticed me." She crossed her arms and smiled the 'Azula Smile' she had been practicing in her spare time.

The Earthbenders moved into a triangle formation around her and took fighting stances, but they didn't attack. The Firebender demagogue himself walked right up and looked her in the eyes. "What do you want? Make it quick, and make it good. Failing either one of those could be dangerous for you."

"Like you, I believe that people should be able to have peaceful lives without worrying about some foreign King or Fire Lord." If her fingernails were nice, Azula would have put on a show of examining them, but as she was, she could only brush a hand through her auburn bangs in an ostentatious manner. "And, again like you, I'm such a strong believer in this ideal that I'm willing to do some disagreeable things to make it happen. Like, oh..."

Within the little rock pyramids that trapped her ankles, Azula used what little play she had to stomp a foot down and release all the heat that had risen in her blood since the rally. She kept the flames to a minimum, since she hadn't yet figured out how to make them appear with something other than her signature blue color, but the resulting explosion was more than enough to shatter the restraints.

Snapping into one of the stances Meisai taught her, Azula finished, "Like hiding my Firebending and using it in very strategic ways to get what I want."

The Earthbenders had all jumped at the explosion, but the Firebender's raised hand kept them from attacking. His face was impassive as he spoke. "People willing to make sacrifices are always in demand. But you'll have to prove yourself."

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Azula cocked her head teasingly.

"Your qualifications, certainly. But we need to know we can trust you."

She smiled as sweetly as she could. "I'm open to suggestions."

* * *

She didn't actually _want _to bomb a factory for this mysterious man who wouldn't even share his name, of course. She had hopes that the whole thing was just a story she had been fed to see if she would snitch to some authority. Regardless, she followed his instructions, headed for the ex-colony of Yang, and told herself that if the opportunity presented itself, she would see if she couldn't at least minimize the casualties.

She was Azula, of course, so the lives didn't really matter to her. People died. She had even killed to get what she wanted. She reasoned that what she really objected to was the _waste_, the senseless deaths that seemed to serve no concrete goal. If she was going to make war on Zuko, she had to wage it smartly, honoring the people who did not side against her.

It was only logical. Entirely reasonable.

It took a while to get to Yang, and once there she wound up staying in a series of flophouses while she tried to find her contact. It was a large city, and Azula didn't dare to ask too many detailed questions.

* * *

The morning after she spent her last copper piece and beat up the drunkard who assaulted the room it bought, Azula came to an innocuous little building that was labeled only with the characters for 'body' and 'health.'

The door was left wide open, so she walked right in and looked around. It was set up like a typical clinic, but there was little actual medicine being practiced in the long room. Men and women were sprawled on top of raised tables, while clinicians in either red or green oiled and massaged them with great focus. The whole place smelled of incense and perfumes, giving Azula's nose a little itch. The only windows in the place were on either side of the front door, and they were the sole light sources. For some reason, the decorator had eschewed the paper lamps that should have been hanging from the ceiling, so the back of the clinic was left in shadow.

From around a screen, a girl no older than Toph had been when they first met walked up to Azula. Her robe was a pale yellow the same shade as her skin. "Welcome to the House of Wellness. What internal and external peace do you seek for your body?"

Azula opened her mouth to answer, but the motion was hijacked by a sneeze. She didn't like the smell of this place at all. "Sorry about that. I'm looking for Lady Shingyung?"

The girl looked at Azula without blinking. "The Lady Shingyung is the proprietor of this House, but all of our masseurs can release the wellness trapped within your body."

"I'm sure. But the Lady was personally recommended to me, so I would like to speak with her."

The girl bowed. "If that will put your soul at rest, it is my duty to provide. You are in luck; the Lady is not often on the premises." She swept away with a lilac-scented wind.

Azula sneezed again. She hated this place already.

It was almost a quarter hour before the girl came back leading the tallest woman Azula had ever seen. She wore a long purple dress that even covered her feet, and the grace with which she walked made it look like she was gliding over the floor like a feather on the wind. Combined with the high ponytail that added considerably to the woman's height, she made for an intimidating presence that at the same time managed to feel utterly soft.

She also smelled heavily of incense. Azula disliked her already. "Lady Shingyung, I presume?"

"I am." Her voice was heavy with breath. "How can I guide you to the Wellness your soul craves?" The cadence of her speech was odd, as though she were an overdramatic actress trying to seduce an audience.

"A mutual acquaintance told me that you might have use for a person of my skills. I specialize in the strategic use of... heat."

Shingyung tilted her head to her left, letting her dark, glistening ponytail hang to the side of her face. "I can always find a use for a woman who can master her own heat and give to others. Especially for house calls. Come, let us have tea in my office, and we can discuss your employment." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and glided back through the rows of masseurs into the shadows.

Azula followed with a frown. The way Shingyung said it, it sounded more like dirty talk than a code phrase for recruiting Firebender terrorists. She sneezed twice more before she reached the building's rear.

* * *

"Our brothers in the grain country do credit to our cause," Shingyung said over tea a few minutes later. "If they trust your skills, then I can certainly make use of you."

Azula blinked and ignored the steaming teacup in front of her. "You run the cell here? I thought you would merely be a messenger or recruiter."

Shingyung and Azula were kneeling directly across from each other on thick mats, in what the lady had called her "office." Really, it seemed more like a mix between a meditation room and an antique shop, filled with odd and sometimes obscene statues, while strange paintings hung from the walls. Shingyung herself ignored the decor and kept her half-lidded eyes on Azula. "This city will be important to our cause, and so groundwork must be laid with great care and precision. I have other duties, as well, that take me away from the city. I'm what you would call a 'hands on' type of woman. Now, my dear, what is your name?"

"I have none." Azula casually eyed a nearby statue of a Lionturtle, then turned her attention back to her host. "My name is whatever I decide it to be at any given point. You may call me Chijin, for now."

"Interesting. People who deny having names are usually running from a past."

Azula smiled with no humor. "The only thing 'usually' gets you is a broad assumption that can color your judgment. When I tell you I have no name and no past, I truly mean it. But let's not waste more time on that. The man at the rally told me that you're organizing an attack on one of the factories in this city producing tanks for Ba Sing Se. I presume I'm here to assist with that. Is there an initiation process, or can I get right to training for the strike?"

Shingyung took a long sip of her tea, and then shifted out of her proper kneeling to lounge across the floor. "First, you will need to meet the field commander, my dear. That will determine your entire future with our organization. She is quite the exquisite creature."

Azula raised her eyebrows at the odd description. "And when can that be done?"

"Oh, she is not yet in the city. Come, I will arrange your lodging, and you will stay there until I send for you to meet her." Shingyung's rich red lips twisted into a broad grin. "I'm flush with excitement for how well you two will get along."

"Can't wait." Azula didn't care if her tone sounded sincere or not.

Shingyung looked down at Azula's cup. "Oh, you haven't touched your tea. I think you should at least taste it; you strike me as the type of girl who could use its relaxing influence. Give your body what it needs."

Azula stood up. "I hate herbal tea, and what my body wants is a real bed and some food that isn't of questionable origin. Let's see this place where I'll be staying."

* * *

It was a nice hotel, but it did nothing to alleviate Azula's suspicions that she was being pulled into a trap.

The hotel in question was situated in one of the nicer sections of Yang, in a neighborhood that catered to the traveling merchants constantly passing through the city. It wasn't grand or decadent, merely comfortable without asking for riches in return. The economy in the ex-colonies was rough, after all. Azula didn't make use of even what amenities the hotel boasted, electing to stay in her room every day and practice her Firebending- through both katas and meditation- from morning to night.

The situation was more than a little insulting. She had been sent to Yang to meet Lady Shingyung, but according to the massage parlor's little assistant, the woman was rarely around. Despite that, she just happened to be on hand to meet with Azula, which was leading directly to a rendezvous with this special "field commander" who would supposedly welcome Azula into whatever this conspiracy was about. Azula, who had walked in off the street and had only a short meeting with that Firebender speech-giver as her credentials.

It was really quite contrived.

Which implied that someone was making these things happen, and Azula didn't know who that was or why they were doing it.

Still, forewarned is forearmed. Azula spent the time she wasn't cultivating her Firebending outlining contingency plans.

After nine days, a courier came to bring Azula to her long-awaited meeting. The young man didn't say anything after introducing himself, and so they walked in silence through the night into Yang's industrial area. Azula was grateful that she didn't have to worry about making nice with this flunky, allowing her to concentrate on her surroundings and keep an eye out for whatever double-cross was going to be sprung on her.

Azula had her Inner Fire stoked and ready by the time they got to the warehouse district. The young man went straight to one of the big stone buildings and unlocked the door with a key, then bowed to Azula and motioned. "I have been instructed to go no further. Have a good night."

She waited until he was long gone before she walked in. As she expected, it was quite dark inside, but enough moonlight spilled through the windows to reveal that the warehouse was far from empty. Caterpillar tanks, designed by the Mechanist of the Northern Air Temple and first fielded during the Day of Black Sun Invasion by rebel Earth Kingdom forces, were lined up in neat rows across the entire open space. They smelled of fresh paint and seemed to have their green detailing completed, from what Azula could see, so she assumed had already been sold and were simply awaiting transport to the customer. Could they be bound for Ba Sing Se, or perhaps a more independent buyer in the colonies? Well, it hardly mattered to her.

From within the gloom, small lights suddenly burst to life. They weren't the otherworldly glows of ghosts, but rather the warm flames that only Firebenders could produce without sound. The lights revealed figures in polished black armor as they closed in on Azula's position. The glow of the fires coalesced into a single large spot of light, and Azula found herself surrounded and completely visible.

She waited, not yet taking a defensive stance. They wouldn't have announced themselves like this if they wanted to kill her. Probably.

Then a figure in purple stepped out into the light, and Azula recognized Shingyung. "So good of you to come, little Chijin. Allow me to introduce our mission commander. Depending on that personal history you may or may not have, you might find it appropriate to bow."

Another person, much shorter than Shingyung, walked into the light, and Azula found herself eating her own gasp. It was a woman, dressed in unique Firebender armor that hugged her lines so precisely it had to have been custom-fitted. The woman's dark hair was bound into a royal Fire Nation topknot, with two spear-like bangs left to frame the face. A gold ornament was stuck into the topknot, glistening faintly in the firelight, and seemed to be shaped like the sigil of the Fire Nation. Most impressive was the way the woman walked; she was clearly a Firebender herself, but the normally strong way of moving was softened by a confident grace that even Shingyung should have envied. For all that it was artificial, the woman made it look as natural as breathing.

The smirk on the woman's face was one that had haunted Azula's- Suki's- _who was she really_- nightmares. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Chijin," the woman said. "You have chosen the path of honor and loyalty in joining our cause. Please, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Princess Azula, daughter of Phoenix King Ozai, Conqueror of Ba Sing Se, Slayer of the Avatar, and rightful Lord of the Fire Nation."

Azula- Suki- _who was she really_-

The girl who had answered to the names of Azula and Suki stood there dumbfounded, and wondered futilely where reality ended and the fever dreams of insanity began.

Shingyung looked her right in the eye and smiled. "Exquisite creature, isn't she?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	8. Stare of the Abyss, Stare of the Mirror

**Stare of the Abyss, Stare of the Mirror**

The woman who was once called Suki, who thought that her name was Azula, was gazing into the face of her worst nightmare, and that nightmare was none other than herself.

Gold eyes stared back. Dark hair gleamed in the light of the fires. Armor glittered dully with the colors of the Fire Nation's military. She walked like she owned the world, and there was no doubt that this woman was the greatest living danger to peace alive. She moved like a Master Firebender-

Wait.

The woman who was once called Suki had been able to bend _blue fire_. Her own recollections weren't entirely reliable, true, but her most recent memories were completely consistent on this matter. She could summon and command azure flames since the moment she was forced by Ozai (Father?) to remember her true name. Only one person alive could Firebend like that, and that was Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. Logically speaking, there could only be one Azula, regardless of appearances. The woman who was once called Suki looked again at the person standing in the darkness before her, but this time, she did so more critically.

And in doing so, she realized that she wasn't looking at her own face at all.

Nor was it the face of Azula.

It was close, certainly, and most people would probably accept that visage as the Fire Princess readily enough- even those who had seen her in person- but the person who was once called Suki had a special edge: she was strongly familiar with the faces of Zuko and Ozai, as well. Looking at this armored figure pretending to be Azula, there was no echo of the Royal Family in her features, no strong similarities that honored the blood of the clan.

The woman who was once called Suki- the woman who was the One True Princess Azula- thought back to her own reflection, and had to suppress a shudder when she realized that she could easily see those aspects of Zuko and Ozai (Family) in her own face, now that she knew to look. Her head hurt at the effort, and the dark warehouse threatened to spin around her, but there was no doubt in her mind about what she herself looked like, no vagueness. She could remember being Suki, and covering those features with the facepaints of Kyoshi. In those memories, she could now see the echoes of the Fire Nation's Royal Fmaily. With an effort, she could even find a shadowy memory of being in the Fire Palace, looking into a large, opulent mirror and running her fingers over a facial bruise that spilled out over her young features.

How had she gotten that bruise? Well, it wasn't important.

Azula let out a heavy breath as she realized who she was, and that the woman in front of her was a fake. A good fake- and one who oddly had a hair color that matched the official depictions better than Azula's own auburn locks- but a facsimile all the same. Less practical minds might have wondered about a secret sister, or a duplicate constructed by a Spirit with limitless power, or just mere coincidence, but Azula's mind- for all its current functional problems- was not given to flights of fantasy. This was merely a mundane imposter.

Of course, that was a problem all unto itself. Azula had a feeling that her already complex life was about to get orders of magnitude more troublesome.

Still, nothing was going to be dealt with by just standing around and staring. Blinking, Azula let reality reform around her into a dark warehouse filled with freshly painted caterpillar tanks, illuminated by a team of Firebenders who surrounded her in a display that was only slightly confrontational. She inclined her head at her pretender. "A pleasure to meet you, Princess _Azula_. A surprise, as well. I hadn't heard that you were still active. In fact, you're looking remarkably more healthy than Fire Lord Zuko- oh, excuse me, the usurper Zuko- had described to the public when he took control of the Fire Nation."

The pretender's eyes narrowed and a strong frown twisted her lips. "You consider yourself remarkably well informed, for someone who I was told laid no claim to a name or history."

"I worked in border enforcement fairly recently. It was my job to be well-informed about world affairs." Azula bowed at the waist and held it for a moment. "Still, I have been rude to you. I apologize for my behavior. I was caught off guard by your appearance, and I hadn't even thought to associate your name with a movement to strengthen and unite the former colonies." If Azula needed further proof that she herself was the real thing, she had only to notice at how easily lies came to her tongue.

The pretender let her frown wash away, but the superior smile did not return. She was on her guard, understandably. For all Azula might try to smooth things over, the damage had still been done. Even if the pretender was a fake, she wasn't a moron. She nodded and said, "I accept your apology, Lady Chijin. Do keep control of your mouth in the future." Then she threw a fist right at Azula's face.

Azula's response was unconscious and as fast as lightning. She brought her own right arm up in a motion that swept in front of her face and collided with the pretender's forearm to throw it off its path. The fist passed beside Azula's head, and the wind roared in her ear like a screaming dragon, but there was no impact. Azula continued the motion of her arm, twisting it around the pretender's, yanking, and then locking the other's limb under her armpit. Even as that was happening, Azula brought her other hand up and summoned a ball of fire in her open palm. She held back at that point, content to have the imposter trapped, with a fire attack ready to go at the first sign of further hostility. So it was that in the darkness of the warehouse, Azula had a long moment to notice that the light being shed by her own flame was no different than that of the other Firebenders.

Azula looked up at her left hand in surprise, and found a ball of reddish-orange fire dancing in place there, sputtering at the tips.

What- ?

"Ah, you _are _a strong one," the pretender's voice sounded in Azula's ear. "Aren't you going to free me now?"

Azula forced herself to recover. Perhaps she was sick in some way, and her fire would return to its normal azure color eventually. She didn't have time to worry about it now. Her fire would become blue again, she was definitely the one true Azula, and the pretender was a threat. She clung to those facts and told herself that they were unquestionable.

Azula held her general position, keeping the pretender's arm immobile, but lowered her other hand and let the flames dissipate. Their faces were close, and they had no choice but to stare each other in the eyes. Azula cleared her throat before she spoke, fearful that her voice would fail her the same way the azure flames did. "It's unwise to let a powerful Firebender gain any distance in a fight. I have a good command of Fire myself, but the Princess Azula is said to be among the greatest in the world. I think it to my benefit to keep things within hand-to-hand range for now. I'm well trained in that, as well."

The pretender blinked, and her gaze fell from Azula's eyes. "I- My-" She took in a heavy breath, and then spoke again. "My Firebending is gone."

"Gone?" Azula nearly lost her grip on the pretender in surprise.

"Y- Yes. The Avatar thought it would be enough to stop me, but- I'm not- he couldn't-"

Azula's stare drilled into the golden eyes of the pretender, and she realized two things. First, the other woman was wrong. The Avatar had done nothing to her. She spoke of something that she didn't understand in the slightest. Azula remembered how... her father had been when he ambushed 'Suki' on Kyoshi Island. Even with all that time since his defeat at Aang's hands, there was a hollowness within his gaze, a slump to his body that had nothing to do with his bones or muscles. The flow of Qi through his body had been twisted and corrupted, blocked in a way that had nothing to do with the physical world. On the deepest level, he was a broken man, and the light in his eyes was dimmed for it.

And in the blackness beyond where the remnants of her memories faded to tatters, Azula sensed a cold wind and a biting fang of ice. When she imagined that look in Ozai's eyes, she could feel a piercing freeze like some phantom pain that existed beyond physical healing. Was that what was happening to her, now? Had something been done to her, to try to make her like Ozai? Was such hollowness her own destiny?

There was no such pain in the pretender's golden eyes.

The second thing Azula knew was that the pretender absolutely believed she was telling the truth. She didn't have Toph's ability to detect the internal physical signs of telling lies, and there were stories that the Princess Azula could fool even the blind Earthbender's extra senses, but the Azula that existed now somehow _knew _that this woman in her grasp was not telling intentional falsehoods. Perhaps it was something in the pretender's eyes, or a chain of physical tells in her expression, or the way she held herself or the tightness of her skin, but the perception was all subconscious to Azula, now.

She would just have to be willing to stake her life on it.

She finally let go of the pretender's arm. "Again, my apologies. I am truly sorry for how hostile I seem. I'm really not very good with surprises, and this meeting almost seems designed to keep me ill at ease. The sooner we get to business, the sooner I hope to justify my worth."

The pretender- no, she wasn't pretending if she truly believed what she was saying. This woman was trapped into being Azula for both herself and the outside world, a fate that was akin to a long session of torture followed by a death sentence. It was a curse. And the woman here was a victim.

The Victim inclined her head towards Azula, a superior smile once again lighting up her face. "Shingyung will give us our briefing, and then we will all finalize the details of the plan. A plan to destroy those who would work against us, and the lands of the former colonies. I have no doubt, my sister, that your worth will be evident to all of us before long."

Azula nodded, and made no sign that she had just realized that anyone who could do this- find a woman who looked just like the Fire Princess and truly make her think that she was Azula- was an enemy on a level beyond even what she had thought of Zuko, Aang, Sokka, and all the others. Perhaps her former friends weren't even her primary enemies at all.

In the darkness, surrounded by flames with her greatest weapon having abandoned her, Azula was scared.

* * *

Shingyung's cold words stood in contrast to her overly warm method of talking. "Blasting jelly has become quite scarce outside the Fire Nation since the war ended, but I managed to procure something almost as good- flare juice. It requires much flame and heat to make it explode instead of merely burn, but the results will be more than enough to critically damage the factory."

The group of rebels- including Azula- had moved into one of the tanks being stored in the warehouse for the briefing. Azula and Shingyung were the only ones not wearing Firebender armor, a major concern in case fighting broke out in the cramped metal troop compartment. Not that Azula expected anyone to attack her again; she had apparently passed their tests for now, and even if she had armor, fighting nine trained Firebenders in close quarters was a losing prospect.

Still, Azula kept track of all the glowing lamps in the hands of the soldiers. She was fairly sure that she had the Firebending power to make them explode, if it came to that.

Shingyung was the only one standing. "We'll be transporting the flare juice in multiple containers, one for each member of the team. That will make it easier to transport than a single barrel, given the amount we need, and even if we lose someone, there should still be enough to make a worthwhile bomb. You will all be provided with diagrams for constructing the bomb. Make sure you study them. If case we suffer losses, any of us needs to be able to assemble the bomb on site." Although Shingyung's briefing was professional enough, the way she moved and talked was anything but. Her voice kept its breathy quality, and grew more singsong as she became more enthused with the plan. The only thing swaying more than her hips was her long glossy ponytail.

One of the Firebender soldiers raised a hand. "What kind of security are we expecting?"

Shingyung smiled at him and tilted her head to the side. "Excellent question, Gunjin. We expect security to be fairly light around the factory, merely a handful of watchmen patrolling the outside, but part of the facility will be active with a small night shift. We'll have to stick to the unused portions of the building, and proceed cautiously to make sure that we aren't detected by any of the workers."

Then, Shingyung walked over to where The Victim was sitting cross-legged on the floor. "The Glorious Princess Azula, as our capable field commander, will choose the scouts to move ahead of the main group. Those scouts will be responsible for detecting any risks, and if necessary, neutralizing them quickly and silently." Shingyung turned her gaze from the false princess to Azula herself, and her painted smile grew wider. "I think our new recruit will be especially effective in this regard."

Azula didn't react.

Shingyung looked around at the whole group. "Only Princess Azula and I will know the day the operation will take place. Once we finish here, you will all go to your safehouses and await word. When you get the message, leave immediately and meet up with the group here. Make no mistake; this mission is an important step in our cause. The factory is producing weapons for the Earth King, selling him a modern military that will eventually give him the full abilities of the Fire Army and at least triple the strength. If we don't put the fear of the former colonies into these ironmongers, they won't stop until they've sold our enemies the means to enslave us all again, this time under flags of green."

It all sounded so pretty, and Azula could feel the fervent heat coming off the Firebender soldiers. It was making the tight compartment positively stifling. Time to inject some coolness. "And what of the Princess?" Azula looked around at the others, then let her gaze settle on her facsimile. "If you don't mind my asking, what is her stake in the former colonies?"

The Victim raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "The free cities that used to be the Fire Nation Colonies are the only places in the world that have not yet called for my death or imprisonment. I would repay my adopted home by helping to build the strength that the Fire Nation once gave it, before my brother stole the crown from me. I'm surprised you need to ask. Aren't our stories of a similar nature?"

Azula just looked at the floor.

"Now," Shingyung said into the thick air, "here are your diagrams for the bombs. Look them over, make sure that you understand them..."

* * *

Once the briefing was over, the group exited the tank and began leaving the warehouse one by one. Azula purposefully hung back and occupied herself with some stretching exercises after the cramped confines of the tank, letting the Firebender soldiers go first. They donned cloaks before they exited the building to hide their armor. Azula suspected that they had only worn the distinctive uniforms in case she had turned out to be an enemy and they needed the protection during the resulting fight. For all that she had been ushered so quickly to this meeting, it seemed they were still taking precautions against her. She couldn't help but wonder what other safeguards might be in place.

Finally, she was left with only the company of Shingyung and The Victim. The taller woman dropped her smile, and laid her hands on The Victim's right shoulder. "We should go."

The Victim gave the other a lazy look. "You may leave. I wish to speak with our new recruit. Alone."

"Princess-"

The Victim brushed the hands off of her, "Watch what you presume, for your own sake. We will speak again later, but for now, you are dismissed."

Shingyung gave the false Fire Princess a long look, and then broke out into a wide grin. "Exquisite." She bowed low. "It shall be as you wish, Your Highness."

Azula watched the tall woman go, and made sure that she had left the warehouse before turning back to The Victim. They stood together in the center of the building, and the only illumination came from the moonlight that leaked through the windows, leaving everything stained with shadows. With no torchlight to sparkle off The Victim's armor, or to illuminate the reddish shade of Azula's hair, the two women might have been mistaken for sisters. Or was Azula letting her fears color her perceptions? "What did you wish to speak to me about, Princess?"

The Victim examined Azula where she stood, and raised a hand to cup her chin. "You fascinate me, 'Chijin.' Honestly, it strikes me that we share some similarities. There are clearly betrayals and traumas in our pasts, but there's more than that, isn't there? The way you talk, move, even think... I look at you and see who I might have been without my name and Station." She looked up to the windows that glowed with lunar light, then back to Azula. Her face was white with the reflected glow, and her expression was that of a restless ghost. "It's lonely being us, isn't it?"

Azula blinked with surprise. Of all the things she expected to hear from this creature, that was the absolute last. "Yes. I... suppose it is." She thought back to everything that had happened since she fled Kyoshi Island. After leaving Captain Toru and his daughter Meisai upon her arrival in the lands of the former colonies, Azula hadn't spoken to anyone about anything but her business. She had learned the names of only a handful of people, and forgotten them quickly. If she succeeded in her quest and truly learned what had been done to her, what would come next? She'd still be Azula, still be a wanted criminal, and still have no one who cared about her as anything more than an opportunity.

Would the real Azula worry about such things? Was the shadow of 'Suki' still tainting her?

Yet, wasn't The Victim here a living counterpoint to that idea? Here the woman was, believing herself to be Azula and working to carve herself a new power base, and she was still lonely. Part of being Azula, it seemed, was hurting inside.

The Victim nodded and gave a small smile. "I've had my difficulties, and the memories aren't entirely clear..." A wince momentarily flashed over her face. "But I know I used to have friends, and family, but they all... the feelings of betrayal are sharp. It feels like I was ripped from a place of comfort and cast out into a world of cold and solitude. I can see that it must be the same for you. People look at us, how strong we are, and comfort themselves with the belief that we are incapable of feeling, that every hurt they want to inflict on us is justified because we aren't like them. But we're not inhuman. And if people can't realize that-" The Victim's fists clenched at her side. "-Then we will _take _our due." She turned wide, glistening eyes on Azula. "We can only hope to survive the process, yes?"

So, The Victim had problems with her memories as well. Fascinating, but at this point it was merely another log on the fire of Azula's suspicions. She closed her eyes and nodded. "We _are _alike. It, well, helps to know that I'm not entirely alone in this world." Azula meant every word. Whatever process had produced this strange duplicate of her old life wasn't important right now. Azula would find it, and in doing so hopefully discover her own history and identity, but she decided that it wasn't her only goal. Maybe the old Princess Azula wouldn't have cared, or perhaps she would have relished the challenge, but it didn't matter. She was what she was, and so she could only act according to what she needed and wanted right now. And she knew very much what she wanted.

Azula was going to _save _The Victim, because in a sense Azula was also a victim, and The Victim was also Azula.

Identities were tricky that way, it seemed.

Azula looked over at this cruel mirror and said, "Do you- did you ever love your family? If you don't want to answer, it's-"

"Yes." The Victim's voice was clear and strong, but her gaze was not on Azula. She was staring into the shadows around her. "It's hard to remember, but... I remember feeling love, and trust, and respect. I was hurt, I recall that bitter feeling well enough, but I trusted at one point. Maybe I let them hurt me long after I should have tried to stop it. Memories themselves can change in the details, and," here, she massaged her forehead, "for all their lack of clarity, there's no mistaking the emotions I felt. But I'm sure I don't need to explain all this to you."

Azula wrapped her arms around her own body. "Don't you? Knowing is one thing, but understanding it is another." She looked straight at The Victim. "I don't really know anything about you or your life. I know the public story, of course, but I've learned recently that the words of others are about as trustworthy as dreams. I'm fairly certain that I would not believe you if you explained it to me yourself. I know you wouldn't believe me, in the same situation. But the only truth that matters is you standing before me right now, and you have taught me some very valuable things tonight." Azula straightened her back, stood at full attention, and held her right fist up against her chest. "I pledge my loyalty to you. I will give you my service, and in doing so, will make myself into exactly the person I want to be. Let the worlds of Life and Spirit stand witness."

The Victim grinned with obvious satisfaction. She stepped over to Azula, and placed a hand on her auburn head. "Your loyalty is accepted with Honor and Grace. From this point forward, you are defined as my ally and warrior. Forget the false name of Chijin. I hereby name you Azure, and your new life begins now. Just as I have your loyalty, you will have my favor and respect."

The girls bowed to each other, then turned and left the warehouse by opposite doors. Azula paused just outside the building, and snuck into a pitch-black alleyway. Taking a deep breath, she cupped her hands, then exhaled and pushed her Qi into motion. A fire appeared in her palms, flaring bright blue before settling back into the reddish orange color of before.

Azula let it sputter out and then moved off into the night. She still had work to do, it seemed.

* * *

In her briefing, Shingyung had been clear that the timing of the bombing mission would be a surprise. This complicated things for Azula, and meant that she would have to choose speed over caution. The day after the briefing and her meeting with The Victim, whipped by a cold wind beneath a slate gray sky, Azula snuck out of her comfortable hotel room through a window and made her way into the nicer section of the city of Yang. While the rest of the city was dirty and crowded in a variety of ways, one particular neighborhood was kept clean and free of the press of the common people. There, the owners of the factories kept lavish estates that surrounded the government headquarters like the walls of a fortress.

In that neighborhood, Azula's brown tunic stood out for the simplicity of its design as much as its color. Elaborate red robes were the most common sights on the street she traveled, but Azula had cleaned herself up before setting out on this trip, and that combined with her grace of movement and clear purpose to keep her out of trouble.

For now.

She found the government headquarters without difficulty; it was the gaudiest of the buildings in the entire neighborhood. Most of its coloring was darker, and Azula thought she spotted a few places where newer paints were chipped to reveal the original red shades beneath, but that was hardly important right now. Instead, finding shelter from the wind within an arch that faced the headquarters, Azula watched the flow of people in and out of the building.

Her memories may have been suspect, but she recalled details of her time during the Yu Dao Crisis. That alone made those memories fairly trustworthy; vagueness was a sign of the enemy. She clearly recalled standing beside Zuko and taking command of the Fire Palace's security, along with all the possible holes she identified. Although it was impossible to confirm, she believed strongly at the time that the assassins who tried to kill Zuko had pretended to be servants and entered the palace through the doors and lanes given over to the staff's use. That's what she was looking for, now.

It wasn't even hard. The servants and lower-tier staffers were easy to identify by their green clothes.

Azula buried all signs of her tenseness and started walking boldly toward one of the busier entrances she identified, a door set just around the corner from the grand staircase leading up to the main entrance. Getting through that portal would be only the beginning of the effort, as she would have to find her way through not only the back rooms and halls but also the more prominent areas of the headquarters, straight into the office of the city's governor himself. She would have to bluff, sneak, hide, bluster, and perhaps even fight her way into the most secure room in perhaps the entire city.

That shouldn't be any harder than sneaking Sokka backstage during a performance of the Ember Island Players, assuming the memory was real. (Azula very deliberately didn't push at it, never mind how much thoughts of Sokka hurt.) Avatar Kyoshi's province had once produced the world's best spies, before she turned it into an island and rededicated its Warriors into protectors.

Clutching a letter in her sleeves, Azula stepped into the headquarters.

* * *

The Governor of the City of Yang came back from a rather sumptuous lunch to find a letter sitting right on the center of his desk that he was fairly sure he hadn't seen before. On the other hand, things were so complex these days that he might have just lost track, never mind that certain parties among his supporters liked to contact him through unusual channels. With a sigh, the Governor sat down at the desk and read over the note:

_'Governor,_

_'I apologize for the mysterious nature of this warning. I am an agent with ties to the Avatar and certain of his supporters, working to investigate and infiltrate enemies of world peace who are operating in the colonies. I have made significant progress in this mission, but have over the course of my workings uncovered information about a planned attack within your city. I would like to minimize the damage and prevent any loss of life, but can only do so much from my position. I ask of you to pass a warning on to the private concerns who own the targeted building, and to arrange things so that the target is left with only a token defense that will withdraw at the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately, it is not possible to prevent the attack itself without compromising my true loyalties, and it is my strong belief that many more deaths will result if I am not able to bring this dissident organization down._

_'I understand that this request may sound suspicious. All I can do is assure you that when the attack itself happens, you will see that the strength and resources of your opponent are enough that they do not need to stoop to such uncertain means of accomplishing their mission. If you ignore this warning, the damage will still be done and people will be hurt. If you heed this warning and it turns out to be a trick, the attack will merely be a little easier for your enemies, and you will know their nature and be able to hunt them down in short order._

_'The site of the attack is the main Bing Rong Armors Manufacturing factory. The date is unknown to me, but it will likely happen some time in the next week._

_'I once again beseech you for your aid, and I have every confidence that you will handle the matter with skill and discretion._

_'With Gratitude,_

_'A Friend'_

The Governor read the note over three times, and then indulged in another sigh. That was the problem with the world these days; it was a complete free-for-all, and everyone seemed to be working for several different masters while thinking only of themselves. It was much simpler when it was merely a choice between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, and not much of a choice at that.

Still, that was what had to be done, these days, to survive. And the Governor prided himself as a survivor.

He rang the small bell on his desk, and his secretary quickly appeared in the office. The young man bowed quickly but with obvious respect. "Yes, sir?"

"Take a note, please." The Governor waited while his secretary set up the paper and brush, and then began dictating. "The enclosed was found on my desk, in my office, origin unknown. Please advise." Once the secretary was finished, the Governor looked him right in the eyes. "Deliver these two papers personally to Shingyung at the usual place. Await her reply and bring it straight back to me. Also, see about clearing some of my schedule for the afternoon. I expect I'll have to arrange a meeting with the Bing Rong people. Hm, as long as we're on the topic, let's make sure we have some gold on hand. Those people do like their hard currency when it comes to making deals."

* * *

Four days after her adventure sneaking in and out of the Governor's office, Azula was still working on her Firebending.

The windows were all closed but uncovered, letting the sunlight in while keeping the chill in the air out. Azula was seated on the floor beside the bed, and after two hours of doing nothing but breathing, she was ready. She brought her hands up and together in front of her chest, level with her heart, and focused her will and Qi through her body. As expected, a fire sprang to life in her hands. It was a brilliant blue shade, but as Azula watched, the tips began flickering with orange and yellow, and the flame shifted in color as though it was bleeding. Soon, she held a flame that couldn't have been distinguished from the fruit of any other Firebender.

That made her angry.

She was _Azula_. She knew for a fact that she could summon azure flames, that she was _supposed_ to! It hadn't even been an effort before, so why should it be one now? Azula was having _enough_ of complication, _enough_ of mysteries that sprang from within her own body, _enough_ of _nothing making any sense_.

She indulged in that anger, held it, caressed it, whispered sweet promises to it of the bliss to come, and then intertwined it intimately with her Qi.

The fire rose and grew, but did not change color.

With a snarl, she snapped her hands apart and tore the flames into nothing. Then she leaned back against the room's bed, and held back a little whimper.

She was saved by a knock at the door.

When she answered, a girl in yellow was waiting. "Lady Shingyung says that the hour of reckoning is at hand. Are your mind and body ready?"

Azula snorted and stepped past the girl. "You could have just said that the mission is on." Hopefully, the night would bring no more complications.

She knew already that it was a hollow hope.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	9. Survival of the Truest

**Survival of the Truest**

Azula was alone in the night, and she wondered if that meant Fate was against her.

Not that she really gave much thought to Fate. It might be real, and everything was preordained, or it might just be a pleasant lie, and life was just the sum of everyone's mistakes. Either way, this particular area of philosophy wasn't especially useful. Naming Fate was simply how she expressed a more practical worry: the complete absence of guards around the Bing Rong Armors Manufacturing factory and what it signified. The night was still, the factory looked dark to the outside world, and nothing moved beneath the light of the half moon. There was no such thing as 'according to plan,' but such a major divergence from the expected scenario this early in the mission was troubling.

The last thing she need in her life was more troubles. So why was she doing this in the first place?

Azula crouched behind a large metal construct- an arrangement of girders with a flatbed in the middle and treads underneath- and went still. Her eyes scanned over the open space between her and the factory, detecting no motion. She focused on her Inner Fire, reaching within and then looping outward again to sense for any nearby heat-sources, but she felt nothing besides the great heat within the factory itself. When a breeze briefly picked up, Azula snapped forward, using the slight sound of the little wind to mask the whispers of her own movements, and reached the wall of the factory just before the air stilled once more.

She had arrived. But was that all she had accomplished? Four days ago, she had infiltrated the City Governor's office and left a written warning on his desk. She had revealed this mission- and its purpose of destroying the whole factory- and specifically requested that the building be emptied of all but a token force. Had the Governor over-reacted and cleared the building of everyone who might get hurt? Or was his over-reaction of a different nature, and this quiet was a prelude to a trap? Even if she was merely arrested, it wouldn't take long for the authorities to figure out whom Azula really was, and that was as good as a death-sentence.

She had been so careful in writing that warning, but it was possible that she had made a mistake. She had merely claimed to be working for the same cause as Aang against the local rebels, hoping to play off the rumors surrounding the White Lotus organization, but it was possible that the Governor was a member of the secret organization, and knew that there were no active agents near his city. Perhaps he had even met with Aang himself, and heard of a certain fugitive Firebender who might have interest in this particular terrorist group. It didn't even need to be Aang; Zuko was undoubtedly focused on finding her, and would have flooded the world with hunters. It could even be one of her other former (false?) friends- Mai, Toph, Katara, the Kyoshi Warriors, Ty Lee...

...Sokka...

No.

No, she was being paranoid. She had been very careful with her note, analyzing every word, making a list of all possible doubts that would occur to a politician, and specifically addressing them with a mix of logic and emotion. If anything had gone wrong there, she had merely scared the Governor a bit too much. Perhaps this wasn't even related to him. The Bing Rong Armors people might have simply made a change of schedule, having to renegotiate some contract and so halting production for a night. Maybe it was nothing more sinister than a cost-cutting measure, eliminating an expensive shift of all-night workers because the demand for product simply dried up.

And if it really was a trap of some kind, she'd very carefully continue her scouting mission, discover the truth of the situation, and make sure she got out of there with minimal damage. Too bad her compatriots weren't so interested in preserving life.

* * *

Earlier that night, Azula had walked into the warehouse that served as the team's rendezvous point and found herself only the third person to arrive. The first two were, as revealed by an old lantern of Earth Kingdom military design sitting on a short crate, Shingyung and... _her_.

The victim of Fate who thought she was Princess Azula.

Shingyung had smiled when Azula (the _true _Azula) appeared. It was not, to Azula's eyes, a pleasant smile. It was half smirk, half leer, and all condescending smugness. Thankfully, the woman kept her thoughts to herself, content to lean against one of the idle caterpillar tanks and watch. Her casual posture contrasted oddly with her obviously well cared-for purple dress.

The Victim hadn't smiled at Azula, but her expression lost some of its tightness. The face wasn't a duplicate of Azula's, but it was close enough to be disconcerting. "Hm, so punctual. You must have come immediately upon receiving our summons."

Azula inclined her head. "Those were my instructions. When I do something, I do it right."

"Well said." The Victim turned to glance at Shingyung. "I'm aware that you two know each other, but allow me to re-introduce my sworn servant, formerly 'Chijin,' now the Lady Azure. Any other names that may have once applied to her are no longer relevant."

Shingyung's eyebrows rose, and the smile perpetrated by her painted lips deepened. "_Azure? _Mmmmm, it tickles my sense of humor, but I'm told that my tastes are not universally shared. Perhaps you had a different joke in mind?" She stretched her neck, shaking her ponytail, but her eyes never left The Victim. "The connection between you two has grown so thick that I can taste it, in such a short time. Are you sure of what you grant her?"

The Victim crossed her arms over her chestplate. "You trusted her enough to recruit her. And you know what an excellent judge of character I am. Yet it almost sounds like you're questioning me."

"Oh, I would never question you, my exquisite, delicious Princess. Forgive me my wandering tongue. It is ever at the mercy of my emotional and spiritual tides."

The Victim turned away and rolled her eyes. "I'll take your word for it. Lady Azure, you may approach. I have a gift for you." She lifted the Earth Kingdom lantern down to the floor, giving her access to thin wooden crate on which it had been resting. The lid came off easily to reveal a series of dull objects lying in a small bed of straw.

Azula stepped forward, and the objects resolved themselves in her vision to something she was not expecting.

It was a set of armor.

It wasn't a _full _set, not in a box that small, but they were still good pieces. In the center was a breastplate just Azula's size, beneath it the corresponding plate for her back, and flanking them was a pair of vambraces that would cover Azula's forearms. Lying on their sides along the bottom of the display was a pair of tall boots that would almost come up to her knee. All the pieces were a dull black with a bit of red trim. There was no doubt- it was Firebender armor.

The Victim motioned at the display. "It's a poor set for the first of my new Royal Guard, but it will be much more useful on tonight's stealth mission, and it's just the start of your rewards for serving me well. But even some protection is better than none, hm?"

Azula reached out and touched the metal of the breastplate. It was cold and smooth, fairly thick but not pressing back with any great sense of weight. She knew this style of armor, she found, on two different levels. Academically, she knew it was Firebender armor, either scavenged from a full set of a soldier's issue, or else custom made to the same basic specifications. On a deeper level, though, it was familiar to her. There were echoes in her mind of its weight on her body, of experimenting with her chest bindings to achieve the most comfortable fit for the metal plates. She could recall the tremor of rock striking vambraces similar to these, of the surge of confidence that came from knowing she could trust that metal to protect her bones. She even knew, with an almost alien level of certainty, that boots such as these had even saved her life on more than one occasion.

At one point, it seemed, she had depended on Firebender armor to transform her from a little girl to a hardened warrior.

"Thank you."

The Victim nodded. "Go ahead and try it on. Shingyung will help you tie the plates if you need it."

It didn't take long to assemble. The vambraces and boots slid on and tightened easily, and Shingyung tied the plates over Azula's front and back with deft knotting. Her prediction that the armor wouldn't be any great weight was correct, especially compared to the heavy _dou _cuirass that was the centerpiece of the Kyoshi Warrior uniform, and having some protection again made Azula feel much better. It still wouldn't do to underestimate a knife in an opponent's hand, but now a good part of her torso was protected from common forms of attack, and that was no small thing.

The other Firebenders had arrived, while she had donned the gift. Tonight, they eschewed the full Firebender armor in which they had been clad during the previous rendezvous, wearing only select pieces underneath black robes.

And so there was only one more matter to take care of before the mission could begin. "I have the packages of flare juice here," Shingyung said, lifting one out of the hatch of the tank she had been leaning against. The main feature was what looked like a small drum, hitched up with leather straps. "The harnesses will let you carry them at the small of your back, out of the way in case you have to Firebend. Do _not _let them come into contact with an open flame, and try even to keep them away from great heat." She licked her lips quickly. "You won't find the results of such a mistake pleasant. I trust you all studied the instructions for assembling the packages into the bomb?"

Nods answered all around her. Azula's was the first.

"Then you're ready. Success or failure, after the mission is complete you will all scatter into the city. Make sure you aren't being followed, then check in at my place of business within the next week. I will have further instructions for you."

Azula quirked an eyebrow. "You're not coming?"

Shingyung actually gave a little giggle at that. "Oh no, this mission doesn't make use of gifts I have come to express. But don't worry, I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Azula wondered which "you" she meant.

* * *

Now, crouched up against the double-door entrance of the Bing Rong factory, Azula shut her eyes tightly and summoned a small candle-sized flame from her fingers. She immediately put it out, but it served its purpose. Anyone watching would see the brief flash of light in the heavy darkness, and the only ones watching were supposed to be the rest of her team.

Azula didn't need to look at her fire to know that it wouldn't be blue. For now, that was a helpful failing.

The Victim and her Firebenders soon materialized in the moonlight. They all crouched around the door with Azula, and The Victim herself leaned over close to talk. "All clear?"

Azula's reply was a barely audible whisper. "So far. Once we get this unlocked, you can guard the entrance, and I'll start searching the inside." At a nod from The Victim, one of the Firebenders stepped forward and raised a fist. Azula averted her eyes so as not to ruin her night vision. The Firebender gave a sharp exhalation, and Azula heard a loud flame spring into existence. It didn't shed much light, but the noise increased when it was applied to the door's lock. Soon enough, the flame winked out of existence, and Azula turned back to view the scene.

The door had a neat little hole right where the lock had been, the metal still glowing with heat. Azula's eyebrows rose. "That must have been a hot flame."

The Firebender nodded. "I used to work in the navy's shipyards, constructing warships. We all learn to bend flames that can cut metal. It can take a lot out of you, but this little lock didn't hold up long."

Interesting. Azula could make use of a skill like that. Perhaps she could ask to be taught the technique, if she couldn't figure it out herself. She had no reason to be especially wary of this Firebender (she certainly wasn't interested in his name yet), but Azula wanted to keep her skillset as secret as possible. "Good to know. I'll signal when I've cleared out this immediate area of the building. Then the other scouts can sweep in."

* * *

The factory was large and distressingly empty. Where was the expected night shift?

As Azula moved through the building, the only real obstacle she encountered was the lack of light. The factory itself was massive, with most of its space given to the Molten Room at the center, with various smaller spaces surrounding it. The liquid metal would be poured into molds in the main chamber, allowed to cool, then shifted to various docking stations along the periphery. Azula and company could have used one of those to gain entrance, but the doors there were large enough that their being opened would attract more attention.

Azula thoroughly investigated those docking bays and assembly chambers, clearing each one as empty and leaving a Firebender guard to keep it that way. She saw piles of heavy armor plates, stacks of swords and knives, and even crates of small metal pieces that would be assembled into machinery at their eventual destination. She was reminded of how Sokka so enjoyed tinkering with engineering, and recalled how happy he had been when he showed her a new screwdriver set he had been given by the Mechanist of the Northern Air Temple. That was the second to last time he visited her before...

Well, before his lies were laid bare.

Azula shivered and moved on.

She met up with the rest of the team at the beginning of the hallway leading to the Molten Room. It was the only room without a door, and the only one that wasn't left in darkness. It was the place where all the metal was melted down and poured, and it glowed with the heat of its perpetual fires. As always, Fire was the ultimate source of all kinds of death and destruction, an intrinsic part of making the tools of war.

The Victim clasped her hands behind her back and gave them one last briefing. "This is where we will place the bomb. We must be very careful not to put the containers of flare juice anywhere near a hot surface in there. We have to be quick, as the drums containing the fuel will start to degrade in the heat of the air itself, but it will last long enough for us to get out of the building and a good distance away. Once it has captured enough energy, the exposed flare juice will combust, and the explosion will be enough to collapse the building. Any questions?" No one said anything. "Then let's finish this. Azure, you'll take point. Give me your drum, and then do a sweep of the room while we take care of things."

Azula had to stop herself from hesitating as she unclasped the container from her back and handed it over to The Victim. So that was it, then. The factory was empty, and she was going to be complicit in its destruction unless she did something to prevent it in the next few minutes. She would have to betray this woman who wore Azula's identity like a comforting shawl, and give up her chance to investigate the truth of her own past.

Disappointingly, it wasn't a choice at all. Let this temple to conflict and toil burn. Forget the loss of jobs for people who needed them, or that it might hurt the well-being of the entire city. Azula needed to know what had been done to her, to her memory. Really, though, it might be the more merciful choice.

If Azula wasn't occupied with this quest of hers, what worse atrocities might she find herself committing?

The Victim must have seen something in Azula's face as the drum of flare juice changed hands. She leaned forward and whispered, "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing." Azula looked her doppelganger in the eyes. "It just seems too easy."

The Victim quirked an eyebrow. "The mission, or the crime we're about to commit?" Azula blinked in surprise at the observation, and The Victim gave her a slight smile in return. "It's always frightening, committing to an ambition and cause that's so much larger than you. It requires trust, but of course people like us don't trust anymore. Perhaps, someday, you'll be able to fully trust in me. For now, though, it's a matter of survival. We can't let the former colonies become tools of those who would destroy us, so we must destroy their base of power first. Are you ready?"

Azula took a deep breath, nodded, and moved into the factory's heart of fire.

The group went cautiously down the hallway, following the pipes latched to the ceiling and walls, and emerged into the Molten Room. The center was given to the tall vats of liquid metal, still leaving large swaths of floor space as a perimeter where Azula supposed all the pouring and molding was done. More vats hung from the ceiling on chains, still full of their glowing and smoking cargo. It would have been too expensive to cool and heat the metal every day, so the fires lived forever and the metal was allowed to bubble and swirl through the night. A series of wide windows stretched across each wall just below the ceiling, but any moonlight they let in was lost in the room's red glow.

Azula remained on the ground floor while the others ascended a nearby flight of metal stairs to the catwalk sprawled above the whole room. As she followed their progress from below, The Victim led her Firebenders to a cluster of large pipes on the opposite side of the room from the entrance. They began piling up their drums of flare juice while Azula continued on her patrol and rounded the next corner, putting the tall vats of molten metal on her left. She eyed the catwalks above, wary of spies or unnoticed guards, or any kind of hidden trouble.

Of course, when it appeared, it would emerge from right behind her.

There was a loud clank just to her rear, and Azula spun to find a group of people in green jogging around the corner along the same path her patrol had followed. One in the lead was drawing a kunai blade from his belt, and a quick glance toward the source of the earlier sound revealed another one of the projectiles on the floor just near Azula. His first attack must have missed, and now-

Azula hopped closer to the vat so that it would provide her some cover and threw a stream of fire at her attackers to scatter them. The heat was nearly choking, but she focused her breathing and tried to draw strength from all the energy, even as another kunai clanged off the vat to her right. Once she was sure she could speak again, she took a deep breath and shouted, "Guards are here! I'll cover you!" She took a hard stance and began punching fireballs at the attackers in a wide spread that would hopefully keep them from mounting another charge. As they made a small retreat, she noted that they were wearing uniforms, green and gray in color with the rounded helmets of Earth Kingdom soldiers, but all of a different style than Azula had ever seen before. Must be a private security force, then, but had the Governor contracted them, or the factory owners?

One of the men pushed forward between her fireballs and yanked his fists into the air. A piece of the floor at his feet broke off- it was too hard and heavy to simply twist and shape like softer stone and dirt- and stood up like a wall in front of him. Azula's fireballs bounced harmlessly off of it; it wasn't surprising since the material was probably expected to withstand even the touch of liquid metal. Some of the other soldiers ran over to cluster behind the wall, and Azula knew she couldn't let them gather, especially if there were more Earthbenders in the group. Good thing she had a tactic for dealing with this. Back on Kyoshi Island, she had managed to put together a method of shooting long-range firebombs, and the teachings she received from the Firebender sailor Meisai had helped her refine the technique.

Azula sank into a bow stance, flung herself forward, and swung her fists at a very precise angle with a very precise amount of force. Fire gathered in the swirling paths her fists followed and coalesced into a fireball. It was flung out by its own momentum and sailed in a perfect parabola towards the entrenched soldiers, landing just behind the wall and exploding across the uniformed men. Azula heard a chorus of voices cry out, but only some of the soldiers tumbled away with embers falling of their uniforms without igniting. Azula performed another leaping lob attack, but before the next fireball struck, there was deep-throated roar and the wall lifted up to form a roof over the rest of the gathered soldiers. The Earthbender managed to hold it in place even as Azula's fireball fell onto the stone and then he _lost the balance_-

-the fireball half skipped, half bounced off the tipping stone slab and its path shifted up and back towards the rear catwalk-

-the damaged fireball broke apart into a thousand tongues of flame as it rained amongst the Firebenders on the catwalk who tried to block a figure and stack of drums nestled within machinery and piping-

-The Victim's voice yelled out for someone to keep that fire away-

-and then the room was overcome by even more light and heat, and the air itself reached out to punch Azula off her feet and slam her to the ground.

It only took a second for Azula to clear her head, but it was even harder to breathe, and when she looked up again, the entire scene had changed. Fire was everywhere, somehow clinging to the stone walls and vats and even the ceiling. Most of the flames were clustered at the rear of the room, the very spot where the bomb had been in the process of being assembled, but the catwalk there was just _gone_.

The flare juice.

It had ignited, but it hadn't been properly pooled and heated so the explosion hadn't fully consumed it. The juice was what was clinging to the walls and burning. It must be sticky, and would take a while to fully burn out, shedding massive amounts of heat the whole time. It wouldn't be long before the air itself could burn skin, unless all of the oxygen in the room was consumed first. Azula frantically searched the area with her gaze, ignoring the soldiers who were fleeing the uncontrollable flames, heedless even of her own safety.

She was looking for one particular person who wasn't there, but she _had to be okay_, Azula had promised to save her, and she-

-she-

A small figure dashed out of the center of the flames.

She was screaming in a way no human should have been capable of, and she was covered in clinging fire.

Azula didn't even think. Over the course of a single second, she steadied her breathing, focused on her Inner Fire, meditated on the room around her with the flame that was spread all over it, and extended her spirit. Then she reached out her hands, aimed her willpower at the burning woman still running across the floor, and _yanked_.

The fires on the woman immediately snuffed out.

That wasn't all that happened.

* * *

Sergeant Gua of the Pointed Vengeance Free Company hadn't liked this mission from the start. He may have been a soldier of fortune by trade, but he was as professional as any national servant in the three nations, and so mistrusted any mission that prevented him from eliminating the enemy as directly and efficiently as possible. All other considerations were political, and politics always got soldiers killed. Always. It's why Gua fought for money. Money was simple, and even politics bowed to money. It wasn't supposed to be any of this, "Be sure not to kill either of the women whose faces match this sketch," or, "Try to limit collateral damage to the building," or other such ridiculousness. But it was a complicated world, these days, and politics were an increasing source of possible income, especially in the former colonies.

So here he was in this factory that might well have supplied swords and machines to the Fire Nation soldiers he killed during the war, now trying to stop Firebender agitants from blowing up. That was the new world order for you.

The situation had deteriorated from there.

The Company had followed the terrorists into the building, managed to ambush them successfully, and begun to engage one of the secondary objective women- she looked just like the sketch supplied by their employer- hoping to scare her into a retreat, but she had done _something_ and there was an explosion and now the whole _mudding _room was on fire! So much for limiting collateral damage. The flames were feeding off of something that just wouldn't burn out and put out a lot of heat, so Gua couldn't see either of the secondary objective women anymore, and his people were scattered all around, shouting with a complete lack of discipline.

Could this get any worse?

Then all the flames stilled their chaotic movement, pulsing slowly and in perfect time with each other.

They had also turned a bright _blue _color.

This? This was probably not good.

That was his last thought before a young woman dashed across his line of vision, and when Gua reflexively raised his hands to start an attack, an azure fireball exploded in his face.

* * *

Azula ran through the inferno of blue flames and didn't even notice how they pulsed in time with her breathing. All she had eyes for was the young woman lying on the floor ahead of her. She scarcely even registered the other people she passed. They could have been the Firebenders who she led into the factory, or the uniformed soldiers who ambushed her, or even some other group of people who had appeared unnoticed on the scene in the last minute. Azula didn't care. If they were in her way, she attacked. She punched fireballs, kicked waves of flame, and called the fires on the walls to leap to her aid.

She was only vaguely aware that the flames were the same color as a beautiful tropical sea on a sunny day.

She reached The Victim and skidded to a halt beside the crumpled body. It smelled of nauseating odors, but above it all rose a sharp chemical scent, most likely the flare juice. Azula was careful not to touch the sticky patches on The Victim's armor, and not to jostle her too much. She _had_to be alive. If she was alive, Azula would carry her out of here, find a healer or something, get the burns treated, and then The Victim would be okay. Maybe while she recuperated Azula could try to find out who the woman really was. Return her to her true life. Azula crouched beside the woman who bore her identity, and turned her so that the full extent of the injuries could be assessed-

Oh.

_Oh Kyoshi._

The Victim-

The burns were all over. The top of her head, part of her face, her arms... all covered in swaths of... awfulness. The armor didn't even shift over The Victim's body when she was moved, almost as if they were stuck in place. Azula swallowed and tried to force herself to look at the burns that were visible but- but-

It was easier to just see what was _gone._

All her hair.

Large swathes of skin.

An ear.

_Both hands._

It was bad. Very bad. But she would survive. She had to survive. Azula knew it, knew it like she knew that she was the one true Azula. The Victim would survive. She had to.

But first, both she and Azula had to get out of the burning building. There was no way The Victim would be walking out, even if she could be woken up, never mind fighting her way through mysterious soldiers who were probably gathering and rallying down the hall, between the Molten Room and the factory's main door. Even Azula alone might have trouble fighting her way through that gauntlet. And yet, she would have to, and there was also no denying that she would have to do it while carrying The Victim. Back when she was Suki, Azula had trained in how to carry the wounded off of a battlefield, and she knew she could support The Victim's weight, but fighting while doing so would be impossible against real warriors. If she tried it, she would die. There was no question about that.

The only reasonable thing to do was leave The Victim to burn to death, and escape.

That's what Princess Azula would have done. She would have left this mysterious woman to die in her place, wearing the burned remnants of her face.

Azula stood there, and managed to ponder that for a full second before she crouched and reached, lifted The Victim up by the armpits to a standing position, and pulled the other woman's body up over her shoulders. It took a great effort to stand up again with the full weight of The Victim pushing down on her, but Azula didn't even contemplate giving up. The first step was the hardest, but the next two weren't any fun, either. Azula had convinced herself that walking was getting easier when a high-pitched metal groan echoed through the whole room. It didn't take her long to trace the source of the sound.

The vats of molten metal that hung from the ceiling were ready to come down. The premature detonation of the bomb might have left the building's structure intact, but the impact, concussion, and extra heat were having a detrimental effect on the support chains. Still glowing orange, the lava-like substance had not submitted to Azula's control like the inferno that was the rest of the room, and now was looking to strike back. With a crack, the first chain broke and the vat that hung from it plunged down toward Azula, tipping and spilling liquid metal as it fell. Azula suddenly found the strength to start running, even with The Victim weighing her down, but it seemed to be a futile effort. Her legs simply could not propel the weight of two bodies fast enough to escape the rain of death. The glowing globules would melt their way through skin and bone, and the threat of "Princess Azula" would end here forever.

But The Victim had never wanted to be Princess Azula.

With an exhalation that was half yell and half battle cry, Azula pumped her legs with a newfound strength and pushed her body's energy down to her feet. Blue light and heat exploded from beneath her boots, propelling her with the power of a Fire Festival rocket.

Waves of liquid metal fell around and behind her, but none touched her.

Azula reacted to the glowing hazards with the speed of lightning, dodging and swerving and even ducking to avoid them. The azure fire kept streaming from beneath her feet even as other chains broke and more vats of molten metal fell and crashed into the vats on the ground, tipping them over, so she kept in motion until she realized that she had run out of room. A burning wall loomed in front of her, crowned by the line of windows that reflected the glare of the inferno like a demon sun. Azula would have to turn back towards the spilling lava or crash.

But the fire jetting from her boots seems so strong, so Azula figured, 'Eh, why not?' She reached a section of wall where the catwalk had been blown away, gave a small hop, and just _ran up the side of the wall_.

Azula's lips quirked into a smile for the first time all night.

The line of windows were up ahead, just before the ceiling, and for extra luck, it seems they had already been cracked when the bomb went off. Azula ran on, the azure flames that came from the slow-burning flare juice spatter parting before her, sparing her harm like loyal children. Just before she reached the windows, she reared back her head, and then snapped it forward to spit a fireball directly into the pane of glass in front of her. Just like spitting seeds back on Kyoshi Island. It was all working out quite well. She would escape mostly unharmed, get The Victim to a hospital or something to find her help, and get to the bottom of this mystery that was her life.

Azula reached the windows, threw herself forward into a spinning jump that took her cleanly through the broken glass, and-

-and realized that she was up in the air as high as the factory's roof and _couldn't fly_.

Unagi breath.

She had just enough time to twist in midair so that she would cushion The Victim's landing when the ground came up to meet her and everything very suddenly went black.

* * *

It turned out that the annoying sounds bringing Azula to wakefulness were human voices. They were gruff, male, and very angry.

"Both are in a bad way. What do we do with them?"

"Kill them!"

"No, these are the girls from the sketch!"

"Kill them anyway! They killed the sarge, and Wang, and Oshu-"

"We kill them, we don't get paid!"

"That one lit the sarge's face on fire!"

Azula swallowed a groan, and tried to open her eyes. Her whole body was in a state of pain beyond anything she had ever felt before. Not that her memory could really be trusted, but it certainly felt true right now. She tried to move, but that just made things worse, and she couldn't stop a soft cry from escaping her lips. Her vision returned slowly, but everything was tinted an orange color, and shadows flickered across the scene. Oh, that's right, the factory was burning. The fires must have reverted to their natural color when she did a stupid and crashed herself unconsciousness. The way she felt now, she didn't think she could bring even a small candle flame to life.

That would likely be a problem, considering that she was surrounded by a group of those soldiers from the factory.

They continued arguing. Azula tried to speak, to tell them that they could do whatever they wanted to her if only they would get healing for The Victim, but her voice would project no louder than a dull whisper. They ignored her, and one of the soldiers even drew a sword.

That's when a walking shadow emerged from the dark of the night and rammed a spike-like arm into the swordsman's chest. The other soldiers cried out in surprise, and weapons were drawn. One even ripped a small boulder out of the ground, but it was all futile. The walking shadow flowed like water through their ranks, batting aside weapons with limbs that looked like spiked talons one moment and whipping tendrils the next. It struck efficiently and mercilessly, cutting down the soldiers one- two- three at once. Azula's sense of time didn't feel quite right, but it was over in what seemed like just a handful of seconds.

Once it was alone, the shadow shrank down into a shape that could have almost been human and stepped into the light of the burning factory.

Azula's jaw dropped. It was Shingyung.

And she was wearing four _waterskins_looped over her stupid purple dress.

Shingyung moved immediately over to Azula and crouched next to her. "Oh my, you've battered that exquisite body of yours quite a bit. Hold still while I restore what nature intended for you to be." She raised her hands, and a simple movement summoned a stream of water out of one of the waterskins to cover her palms. The water lit up with a blue shine that was both just like Azula's fire and completely different. Shingyung moved her hands over Azula's head, and the thudding pain retreated to leave an icy clarity-

"No," shrieked Azula. "Heal the Princess! She's been burned, she needs healing quickly!"

Shingyung turned her head to the side, then back to Azula. "Have you looked at her? There's nothing I can do. I need to focus on you right now so that we get remove ourselves before more trouble arrives-"

"Help her! Do it now or _I will burn your stupid face off!_"

Shingyung was still for a long moment. The water on her hands dulled, but stayed in place. "Very well. In this, as in all things, I am your servant." She stood up, and moved off to the side. The blue glow picked up again, but Azula couldn't see what was going on. She pushed herself up off the ground, but even though her head felt slightly clearer, her body still screamed with pain at the movement. Azula took a moment to catch her breath, and powered on through the hurt. She dragged herself in the direction of the healing light, and found Shingyung moving her water-covered hands over The Victim's body.

It didn't look like anything was happening.

Eventually, Shingyung leaned back and let the now-tainted water splash to the ground. "There isn't even any pain to relieve. Her burns are so deep that they ate her body's ability to feel anything. I imagine she feels like she's wrapped in ice right now. And I certainly can't grow back an ear or her hands." She looked over at Azula and met her eyes unflinchingly. "Her life will expire in moments. I will waste no more water on her."

Expire?

She was dying?

But-

But she couldn't die.

Azula had to save her.

She-

She had to-

Azula felt herself whimper.

She continued to pull herself across the ground, until she was right next to The Victim. She was crumpled up, not unlike how she had been just after Azula had put out the flames on her body, back inside. The smell was awful, but at least the low light hid the depth of the burns. Azula reached out a hand, and brushed The Victim's face. So like her own, yet different in all the ways that mattered.

The Victim's eyes fluttered. One of the lids only opened halfway, but the other eye sought around. "Who's there?"

Azula swallowed back a need to sob. "It's me. Azure. Your friend."

The good eye closed again. The other remained in its broken, halfway state. "D- don't... leave..."

"I won't." Azula would have held her hand, but her hands were gone, burned clean through by the flare juice. Instead, Azula brushed The Victim's face again, so gently. She would have saved this woman, but barring that, she would do whatever she could to make her passing as comfortable as possible. "What was your name?"

The eye fluttered again. "...Az... ul..."

Azula squeezed her own eyes shut. "No. Your _real_ name. I know that they made you be Azula, but you're free now. They can't force you, anymore. It's _okay_. I'll be Azula for you, now."

The other was silent for a long time, long enough that Azula began to wonder if she had gone. Then she took in a sharp breath, and said, "I... Joo Dee?"

"I need to know how to mourn. Tell me. Tell me your original name, the name I will never, _ever _forget. Then you can rest."

The good eye opened again, and the other even lifted to match it. Both eyes moved to grasp Azula's own gaze, and her voice rose in strength. "...Mianju. I... used to be... Mianju."

"That's a good name, Mianju." Azula leaned down, and kissed The Victim- no, Mianju. Beautiful, tragic, Mianju- on her unburned cheek. "I'm sorry you had to be me, but you can sleep now. Go and find peace."

And then the woman Mianju, known for a time as Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, gave one last shuddering breath and died.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	10. Guide Me Home

**Guide Me Home**

The walk back to Shingyung's clinic was a blur. Mianju's half-ravaged face hung in front of Azula's vision the whole time.

A woman had died pretending to be Princess Azula.

Azula didn't even have the pain of her injuries to distract her. Shingyung had used her Waterbending healing to get Azula back in working order, and then dragged her away before the burning factory could attract the City Watch. Neither one spoke as Shingyung led down empty alleys, and Azula hadn't even noticed where they were going until they emerged from a pitch-black walkway besides a building with the characters for 'body' and 'health' painted on the sign above the door. Even that only barely registered over the sensation of drowning in her own guilt. The echoes of her failure, of how her own Firebending had set off the bomb that killed Mianju, bounced around in Azula's head. The memories of the botched mission to the factory constantly replayed, turning the silent night into an overwhelming cacophony. Azula was only brought back to reality when Shingyung yanked her through the door of the dark clinic and shut it behind them.

Shingyung.

Mysterious, annoying Shingyung.

Azula immediately spun and confronted her host with a Firebending stance.

The tall woman merely stood there with the moonlight streaming behind her, eyes hidden by shadow. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Tell me what's going on."

"And how shall I address you now?" Shingyung put her hands on her hips, and a hideous smile manifested in the moonlight. "Would you prefer Suki, or Azula? Unless you would like to lay claim to some other flimsy name? I will honor whatever will keep your spirit in balance."

The world took a quick spin around Azula's head, but it wasn't a complete shock; she had been anticipating (well, more like dreading) her identity being discovered for some time now. And coming from Shingyung, it might not even be a danger. At least, not right away. So, staying in her Firebending stance, she said, "I prefer Azula, these days. But thank you for asking."

Shingyung nodded. "Azula it is, then. I take it you're making no claim to the 'Princess' title for now? Very well." She stepped around Azula, but kept her face turned towards her guest. Shingyung was moving in the direction of the clinic's main hall, where the massage beds were lined up, and the lack of windows there left her increasingly consumed by shadow as she walked. "To be honest, I'm very glad we've reached this point, where we could have a little talk. I've been hungering for it ever since I met you, and hoping for it since we heard of the incident on Kyoshi Island."

By now, Shingyung was almost completely obscured by darkness. Azula moved one of her hands and summoned a flame in the palm. The fire glowed with bright blue light, illuminating the clinic. She relaxed out of her Firebending stance, figuring that with a flame already summoned and no great amounts of water nearby, the physical danger that Shingyung represented was minimal.

Shingyung was undoubtedly dangerous in other ways, though.

"You seem to know a lot about me," Azula said, trying her best to keep her voice neutral. "Or, at least you think you do."

Shingyung gave a little laugh. "More than you, I expect. I know about your time on Kyoshi Island. I know that your father escaped from your oh so righteous brother and freed you from being 'Suki.' Our organization took a stronger interest after that, but we were only able to find you once you made contact and inquired about a job with us. Were you trying to get revenge on Fire Lord Zuko? Or was it that Sokka boy? Everyone we could trust had already been told to look for you, so the agent you met was able to send you directly to me."

"And you were so happy to see me, that you spent all this time hiding behind a... a _fake _me." Azula shook away the image of Mianju that came to mind and gave a calculated little snort. "Excuse me if I find this hard to believe. What happened on Kyoshi Island hasn't exactly been taking over the rumor mill. I know, I've been listening."

"Oh, Azula. Oh, silly, silly Azula." Shingyung's voice grew even heavier with breath, and she stalked forward with what seemed like extra swaying. She stopped when she was right in front of Azula, towering above her. "You aren't listening to what I've been saying. I knew you were Suki before _you_ knew you were Suki. I've been hoping to meet you for a _year_. And as for why I haven't said anything for these last few weeks..." She smiled widely, and licked her lips. "I was doing exactly what I'm doing now regarding poor little Mianju. I'm _waiting for you to ask_."

Azula tried to think of something to say, something that would manipulate Shingyung into revealing the truth without actually letting the other woman win the conversation.

She wound up saying nothing at all.

Shingyung winked. "Why don't we have our little discussion in my office? We can sit comfortably there."

* * *

It was all so utterly innocuous. Shingyung's 'office' room hadn't changed since Azula had first been in there. It was still a gaudy mess of statues and tapestries, still lit by a plethora of lanterns that chased away the dramatic darkness, and smelled of cheap incense. Shingyung knelt on one of the mats as though she was having a pleasant visit with a friend or special client. The only thing missing was the bad herbal tea, but Shingyung made no mention of it. Azula was half-tempted to ask for something to drink, perhaps a cup of ginseng, just to make a show of being unconcerned about the whole situation.

She wasn't stupid enough to think such a ploy would actually work.

Kneeling on her own mat, Azula sighed. "I have no many questions, but don't even know where to start. Why don't you choose? I'll just kick you if I think you're going off topic."

Shingyung gave a graceful nodded that bounced her ponytail. "That is fair enough, I think. You've had a rough night. I suppose I should start with the heart of the matter. It is from the heart, after all, that life flows, and I have no desire for either of us to meet our deaths soon. To put it simply, my organization had a business deal with the man responsible for your whole situation. Suki, Kyoshi Island, all of it."

Azula felt her breath rush out of her. "So it wasn't them! It wasn't my friends!"

"Oh, is that what you hoped?" Shingyung gave her a pitying look. "Poor dear. No wonder your Qi is so fragile. You don't know what to believe any more. No, when I said this man was responsible, I meant that it was his skills and knowledge that were utilized. It was Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang, and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe who arranged everything. This man was quite clear on that point."

"Ah." Azula was only disappointed in herself. She should have known. She shouldn't have held on to that last trace of hope. "Why?"

Shingyung gave a shrug that only went as far down as her shoulders. "I don't have all the details. I have met this man, but we only really discussed what was relevant to my work. My master, the founder and leader of our organization, was more interested in the details. Information is his hobby, you might say, and also frequently useful to our cause. You should speak with him."

"Should I?" Azula hardened her gaze and threw it right in Shingyung's face. "Is that an idle recommendation, or an offer?"

Shingyung's smile was immediate. "Oh, I'm so glad to meet the real you. Your very presence is electrifying. If you want to meet my master, all you have to do is ask."

Azula's answering smile was as false as her memories.

* * *

Azula spent the small remainder of the night in Shingyung's office. The woman herself left shortly after promising to take Azula to her master, claiming that she had more work to do before the sun rose regarding the attack on the Bing Rong factory. Apparently, properly disseminating the news was just as important as the damage to the factory itself. By morning, Azula's sinuses were completely closed, rebelling against the perfumed smell of the room.

If only that were the extent of her bad feelings about the whole situation.

She was firmly in Shingyung's power, now. And she wasn't sure if she should be happy about that.

Azula wasn't at all rested by the time the sun came up, but she heard the sounds of movement and activity coming from the clinic proper. The employees must have begun their day already. The sounds of the activity steadily increased, although it never rose above a handful of voices and regular footsteps. The clinic must have done a small but steady business. Or rather, that was the impression Shingyung wanted to give. There was no longer any doubt in Azula's mind that Shingyung was a master deceiver. Either she had known who Azula was this whole time, or else she was lying very convincingly about it now. Neither option said much for her trustworthiness, never mind the matter of Mianju.

Shingyung had turned a woman into Azula, watched her die, and hardly seemed to care.

That was troublesome.

Still, she had answers. Azula just had to be smart enough to pick them out from between the lies.

Shingyung herself returned just as Azula was starting to get restless, and held a pale yellow tunic wrapped around some bundle. "My assistants always dress like this," she explained. "I find the color to be harmonizing. I move around enough that the guards at the city gates know me and my bribes. They won't look twice at an assistant traveling with me. And after last night, the name 'Princess Azula' is on everybody's fear-moistened lips. Rumors of the blue fires at the factory are quite fleet of foot."

As Azula put the tunic on, Shingyung laid the bag it had been wrapped around on the floor nearby. Azula nodded at it and said, "What's that?"

"Your belongings. I had a runner get them from your room. We retrieved all your clothes, as well as a pair of war fans." Shingyung cocked her head to the side. "Souvenirs of your old home?"

Azula finished dressing and said nothing, but she picked up the bag as they left.

There were a pair of ostrich horses outside the clinic, and they rode across the city to the nearest gate. There were many full carts being hauled out of the city, and Azula couldn't help but wonder if that was just the normal flow of trade or if the city's merchants were running for fear of 'Princess Azula.' The guards didn't interfere, so long as they were properly bribed, and they even grinned broadly and winked at Shingyung as she rode past. Yes, they knew the woman, all right.

Azula waited until they were out on the open road, heading east away from most of the rest of the traffic, to speak up again. She spurred her ostrich horse up alongside Shingyung's and said, "So, you've been in contact with the man who made me the way I am."

Shingyung looked over at Azula and arched an eyebrow. "Was that a question? It tickles me like one, yet it doesn't sound so."

Azula kept her gaze and voice even. She was not going to let herself be provoked by the other woman. At least, not yet. "And then there was Mianju, looking like and believing herself to be me. The connection isn't hard to make."

"And here I thought Princess Azula was known for her subtlety. I still don't hear a question."

"You know," Azula said slowly. "I can always light your hair on fire."

Shingyung smacked her lips, and motioned to the pair of waterskins she wore over her purple tunic. "I would quickly put the fire out, and then there would all kinds of unpleasantness. Provided one of us didn't kill the other, things would be ever so awkward between us afterward. I promise that you will get all of your answers, but you need me to take you to them. Don't think me unintelligent. Or fearful of pain."

Azula bit back a frustrated sigh. A deep part of her, a dark part, wanted to hurt Shingyung anyway, and reasoned that she might just give up everything she knew under some well-crafted torture. Perhaps the real Azula would have managed such a thing, but the Azula of the Now knew she couldn't. Just remembering the smell of burnt flesh coming off of Mianju- off of Ozai (Father)- was enough to make her sick to her stomach. She couldn't bring herself to smell it again. "Did Mianju mean anything to you at all? As something other than a tool?"

"Why, did she mean something to you? Is that why you helped her die at peace?" Shingyung's eyes narrowed, and her expression went blank. "I see. You wanted to save the poor girl. How properly symbolic. No wonder you've been flailing about. You've forgotten what it means to be the Princess Azula."

As much as Azula didn't want to light another person on fire, her Kyoshi Warrior training provided a good list of ways she could hurt Shingyung using nothing more than her hands and feet. Azula was in real danger of losing the chance to discover what had been done to her simply out of an overwhelming desire to smack Shingyong's face. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"If you really knew anything about yourself, it would be quite obvious. The true Azula was The Destroyer." Shingyung glanced over, and must have seen something in Azula's expression. "Oh, I'm not talking about any ancient prophecies or Spirit-related matters. I'm talking about your old job. Ozai built you, from the foundations up, to be his personal destroyer. He wanted to point you in a direction, set you free, and be confident that you would destroy whatever was in your path."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic about this. You're talking about what every soldier in the world is trained to do."

"Ah, but the true Azula's role was different. Soldiers are trained to follow orders, to assist their comrades, even to build over the wreckage of war. Soldiers have families they want to return to. Ozai wanted his daughter to be a force of nature. She would have no need of explicit orders, no knowledge of love or peace. This made her more effective than any soldier- any _army_- ever was. Or did you think you conquered Ba Sing Se simply because you were a well-trained Firebender with a bit more smarts than your uncle?"

Azula waved the point away. "So what does this have to do with Mianju?"

"You were destined to fail at saving her from the start. Ozai ruined you. You're incapable of saving anything without corrupting it and destroying everything around it. Let me guess, it was your Firebending that detonated the flare juice in poor, delicious Mianju's face?"

Azula looked away.

"Ah, quite an eloquent answer, my Princess of Fire. The only thing you're capable of saving is yourself, and you'll burn the world if need be in order to accomplish that. What was done to make you Suki has confused your mind, and so you're trying to work against your nature, but it can't be denied. To fix yourself, you'll have to embrace who you really are. Perhaps we can help."

Azula looked over again. "Help how?"

"Well, little Mianju didn't come to think she was Azula simply by being told." With that, Shingyung flicked the reins in her hand, and her ostrich horse trotted out ahead.

* * *

The first leg of their journey passed quickly over open plains and around busy trading posts, then the two women turned south to head towards the Josoo river. There was a crossing that would take them to the Chubang Mountains. Shingyung admitted that the mountains were their ultimate destination, but nothing more specific.

After her experiences in the city of Yang, Azula paid more attention to the people she observed in the road. She saw people in green, people in red, and many people in brown or black. All the merchants and businesspeople wore neutral colors of no allegiance, and they were the only ones who didn't get into quarrels with their fellow citizens of the former colonies. Azula saw brawls break out in villages, saw people block each on the road. She saw smoke on the horizon, and clothes stained with mud.

It matched the discord in Azula's own little traveling party.

She tried to wheedle more details out of Shingyung, Azula was able to get very little, none of it particularly informative. Shingyung spoke like a Waterbender would fight, never letting herself get pinned down. They stopped at every village along the way, picking up provisions, and Shingyung was always very chatty with the merchants they patronized. Azula followed along with every venture and played the part of a good servant, and after listening to just a few conversations she had to admit that Shingyung was very good. She charmed the merchants, especially the men, and got them to talk first about their goods and then the ways they acquired "such excellent quality," which inevitably turned to a discussion of the dangers of traveling through the colonies. Bandits were frequently mentioned, but also Firebender Loyalist rebels, Earth Kingdom Rejoiner militants, freedom fighter anarchists, and even the occasional corrupt militia.

And, of course, Azula herself was mentioned with whispers of fear.

"So what's the point?"

Azula had asked the question as they were leaving one village that could have been transplanted straight from the Fire Nation- soil, people, buildings, and all- straight down to forbidding anyone in green from owning a business. Shingyung, apparently in a good mood, decided to answer this time. "What do you know about volcanoes?"

Azula stared back blankly.

Shingyung shook her head, setting her ponytail bobbing. "So little regard for your own history. Well, there are two theories about them. The first is that they are the homes of Fire Spirits, and explode when the Spirit grows angry or restless. It might even be true. A growing number of intellectuals, however, focus on the more mechanical aspects. They say that pressure builds within the earth, like in a Fire Nation steam engine, and a volcano explodes when there is too much pressure trapped beneath it. Perhaps the Spirit dislikes feeling cramped so."

Azula nodded as the truth of the metaphor came to her. "You want to build pressure, so that the colonies will explode."

"Quite."

"And what will that accomplish? The Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom barely came to a compromise about the colonies as it is. Are you trying to restart the war?"

Shingyung's laugh rang out brightly. "What good would that do anyone? You must understand, chaos is not a sustainable state. All energy, whether it be within our bodies or shared across the world, naturally wants to settle into balance. Our organization creates chaos so that balance will assert itself in the specific pattern we desire. It's the same with you."

Azula raised her eyebrows and frowned.

"It's true." Shingyung tightened her reins, and her ostrich horse came to a stop and turned so that she could directly face Azula. "The reports we gathered from Kyoshi Island were clear: the fires that fell upon the village were blue. Yet, when you encountered Mianju, your fire was plainly colored, and weak in form. Seeing Mianju being a better Azula than you attacked your sense of self and identity. Your Qi went out of balance, and while such a thing normally wouldn't affect a Firebender so drastically, what was done to you in the past made you especially vulnerable. You're lucky you were able to Firebend at all. Yet, when the factory mission fell into chaos, balance reasserted itself. Your survival instinct restored your sense of Self, and Mianju's injury clearly made her lesser than you. Your blue fire returned, strong as ever."

"What do you mean by 'what was done to me in the past?' Did... the man responsible say something?"

Shingyung shook her head. "He didn't need to. The Avatar duly informed the leaders of the world that he took away the Princess Azula's Firebending when he first imprisoned her. Actually, it wasn't until we heard the news from Kyoshi Island that we even began to suspect otherwise, and we still treated it as a rumor until I saw you bending flame myself. We had made Mianju think her Firebending was taken away, but she was in truth never a Bender of any kind."

Azula ignored the reference to the woman she had failed to save and thought about the rest for a long moment. "I'm not sure I believe your theory," she said eventually. "How do you know so much about Firebending, anyway? You're a Waterbender."

"My father, whoever he may be, was Water Tribe, but my mother was a colonist who was quite proud of her Fire Nation heritage. More proud of that than her profession, certainly. She sold me to the local governor, who was himself a Firebender, and while he bought me all the Waterbending scrolls I needed to train, everything that I learned of Qi and people came from the Fire Nation. When I continued on to study other Qi-related philosophies, I couldn't help but compare it all to my foundational knowledge." Shingyung shook her reins again, and her ostrich horse turned to trot up the path.

Azula hurried her ostrich horse after her. "I thought that the Fire Nation killed or imprisoned all the Waterbenders it found."

Shingyung made a hand-gesture that was both elaborate and dismissive. "Amongst the barbarian Tribes, surely. If the Avatar had been reborn amongst the enemy, he would stand against the Fire Nation. But I was loyal to the Fire Nation, or at least to my home in the Fire Nation Colonies, and as a Healer, I was quite useful to my masters. The world is a much larger and more complex place than your 'friend' Katara has seen."

"But even complexity bows to balance."

"Princess Azula was always said to be smart. I knew you'd understand."

* * *

The Josoo River was one of the largest in the main colonial continent, and as such was a prime waterway for ships heading out to the ocean. The river just so happened to empty into the sea that the sailor Meisai had told Azula about- 'the Crucible.' Instead of being a place of war and death, like it was during the war, it had become the launching point for trade and wealth. Not everyone who came to the river wanted to head south to the open waters, though, and so the crossing was established to take passengers and their cargoes to the far shore. The southeastern land beyond that had its share of settlements leading up to the Chubang Mountains, and south of the mountain range was the stretch of civilization made famous by what had once been the ever-leafed Gaipan Forest, now just another charred casualty of the Hundred Years War.

Azula was feeling more at home in the geography of the former colonies every day.

Shingyung had no trouble arranging a ferry ride for them both at the Josoo Crossing. The whole settlement was oriented around the ferries, and although cargo was given a priority over passengers, there was enough capacity for everyone. For all their problems, the colonies had been diligent about rebuilding after the war.

It was just after Shingyung and Azula debarked on the other side that they were attacked.

It started with the sounds of heavy stomping and shattering wood coming from far down the lane. Amidst the sweaty crowd of ferry passengers who were now scattering across the docks, Azula and Shingyung both turned away from their goal of retrieving their ostrich horses, immediately faced towards the noise, and took defensive stances. Of course, they couldn't be sure that this had anything to do with them, but Azula figured the odds were in her favor. She was proven right when a giant mole-like creature came stampeding down the little street, knocking over laden carts and vendor stalls, with a woman in black leather perched on the creature's back and cracking a whip in the air.

June the bounty hunter.

Azula immediately reached into her belt and pulled out her pair of Kyoshi war fans. Flames would be no good against this opponent, not with Firebending's lack of physical defense. She had memories of Suki meeting June in the lead-up to the events surrounding Sozin's Comet, along with all kinds of facts about the woman in her head, and the resulting picture was of a dangerous fighter and excellent hunter. However, as the crowds scattered and the giant shirshu dashed onto the docks, Azula got a good look at the infamous bounty hunter and was amazed at how bland the images in her head were compared to the real thing. If there was such a thing a Spirit of Sex and Leather, it had chosen June as its Avatar.

Azula and Shingyung stood side-by-side on the docks, and June stared them down. The bounty hunter flicked her long hair away from her face before she spoke. "Princess Azula. Your brother and friends are worried about you. Be a good little girl and come on home peacefully."

Azula shifted her stance slightly so that she would be ready to dodge, making her yellow robe flutter around her. "Pass."

"What's the matter, little girl doesn't know it's past her bedtime?" June shifted in her saddle, and the shirshu responded by hunching forward and tensing its legs. "I know they've told you about me. You can't run. Stop being a little Prissy Pants and give it up. You're going home with dignity or in a sack, but you're going home."

Azula kept her gaze on June as she whispered, "Shingyung, flank her."

The Waterbender giggled, then broke out into a run towards the river. She was fast enough to leave a purple blur in the air and managed to get as far as diving off the docks before the shirshu flicked its barbed tongue out for the first time. Fortunately, June was still focused on Azula. She brought her war fans up to block it, but before the mental commands even got all the way to her arms, the tip of the tongue was past her defenses and struck her right in the center of the chest.

With a metallic clunk, the barb bounced off.

Azula smirked. The only reason she was still wearing Shingyung's ugly yellow robe was so that she could keep her armor on without drawing attention.

Her smirk didn't last long. The shirshu flicked its tongue out again right away, and although she was prepared for its almost blinding speed now, Azula still was hard-pressed to react. Each time she blocked with one of her Kyoshi war fans, she took another step back and to the side, trying to get out of the animal's targeting range. Despite being as blind as a mole, though, it didn't seem to have any trouble tracking her. Azula knew it was only a matter of time before she missed blocking one of the strikes, and she bet that the next time, the shirshu wouldn't aiming at the center of her armored chest.

Time to change the dynamic.

The next time the shirshu tried to hit her with some high-velocity aggressive licking, Azula chose to block with her right forearm. The tongue bounced hard off the vambrace she was wearing, but before the animal could retract it back again, Azula quickly swung her arm out in a tight cyclone so that the tongue wrapped around her armored limb, then she tightened the knot by yanking her arm back up close against her chest. She was sure it wouldn't hold for long, so she slammed her other vambrace-covered arm down on top of the wrapped tongue, clamping it in place.

Then she employed a trick that Meisai had shown her, but that Azula hadn't found a use for until now. She exhaled deeply onto the metal of her vambraces, pouring her Inner Flame out with it and instantly heating the metal to high enough temperature to get it glowing.

Okay, that turned out to be a lot more effective than even Meisai had claimed.

The shirshu let out a shriek so loud that it left Azula's ears ringing.

It yanked its tongue back hard enough to both break Azula's hold and pull her completely off her feet. She dropped her fans, and somewhere during the tumble her robe touched the still-hot metal of her left vambrace and was catching fire. Azula quickly pushed herself up off the dock and yanked the robe over her head, then looked around in anticipation of another attack.

Instead, she found the shirshu rolling on the ground in agony some distance away, while June was on her feet beside it and reaching out to her pet. "Nyla! Nyla, let mommy have a look!"

Might as well make use of the distraction. Azula dashed toward the bounty hunter, planning on hitting hard and fast enough to knock June unconscious with a single blow, but before Azula could even register it, June turned and cracked her whip out into the air between them.

Azula's face suddenly burst into stinging pain, and a mist of red exploded into the air around her eyes.

Her hands instinctively jumped up to cradle her injured face, and her running collapsed into a tumble. Azula bounced once off the wood of the dock before coming to a skidding halt, but she didn't feel any pain. The sticky wetness in her hands was too distracting.

Then a high-heeled boot suddenly stomped down on Azula's arms, the bones not breaking only because of the vambraces, but still tearing Azula's hands away from her face. Before she could so much as hiss in pain, a thick leather cord wrapped around Azula's neck with enough force to pinch the airflow off completely.

Choking...

Azula flung her arms out, trying to produce enough fire to chase off the attacker- it must be June- behind her, but she couldn't so much as produce a wave of extra heat. Without breath, there was no fire. Her lungs burned in an all-too familiar way, her vision started to disappear into a dark tunnel that she regularly saw in her nightmares.

Just like Ozai. Just like on Kyoshi Island.

Father...

The cord got even tighter, and Azula felt like her head was going to explode. Above the roaring of her own blood, Azula faintly heard June's voice in her ear. "I didn't want to make this personal, Princess, but you had to go and hurt Nyla. We're both tough girls, Prissy, but what kind of a monster hurts something so precious? This will be one Dead bounty I'll really enjoy."

June yanked the whip-garrote, and Azula was pulled up to her knees with an arched back and _she couldn't breathe she couldn't breathe she couldn't breathe_-

Azula tightened the muscles running all through her body, threw her legs forward and upward, and flipped her whole body into the air to kick June right in the face with both of her armored boots.

The whip slackened so quickly that it practically exploded off of Azula's neck. She gasped for air with huge heaves, finding the taste of it ever so sweet. She had to stop getting herself asphyxiated; it was a very bad habit. Azula still hadn't gotten tired of breathing when she stood up and turned to find out where June had gone. The bounty hunter was sprawled on the dock, her face hidden by her hair. Azula stomped over and grabbed some of the long glossy locks to lift June up and hold her face up against Azula's own.

The bounty hunter's nose was crooked and gushing blood, and her face was already becoming blue with bruises. "Stay away from me," Azula hissed. "I may be a monster, but I'm a monster who gets more dangerous by magnitudes if you back me into a corner. Come after me again, and it will be the last thing both you and your ridiculous animal ever do." Azula kept a growl in her voice as she spoke, trying to make her delivery as intimidating as possible. She had to keep June from coming after her again, and-

"Oh, warnings won't be necessary."

Then, following the sound of Shingyung's voice, there was a sharp crackle of ice and a noise like a cleaver burying itself into a slab of meat.

Azula dropped June, and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the ice-spear jammed clean through the bounty hunter's chest.

Azula wasn't even sure how the transition came about. One moment she was staring at June's lifeless body, and the next she was yanking Shingyung by her stupid purple dress and holding an orange flame under her face. "You killed her!"

Shingyung's expression remained calm, and her blue eyes held no fear. "Well, you did tell me to flank her. And how else could we keep her from continuing to hunt you? Her shirshu can detect you anywhere in the world, and she's too professional to let a beating discourage her. What you should be saying is, 'Thank you, Shingyung, you restored balance to my life by doing what was needed but beyond my own capabilities.' I'll settle for you letting go of my tunic, though. This is a most impolite way to carry on a conversation."

Azula moved the fire in her hand even closer to Shingyung's face. "I should kill you now."

"The Avatar would probably thank you for that. But he won't give you the answers you want about your own life. By all means, burn my face off if my existence has no worth to you. Just like poor little Mianju."

Azula tried. She really did. But in the end, she let the fire go out, and released her grip on Shingyung. She just stood and stared as the shirshu nuzzled June's bloody body, letting Shingyung's words pass over her: "We need to scavenge some supplies, but we'll just have to buy more ostrich horses at the next village, unless you care to try to steal a pair here..."

Soon enough, Shingyung led Azula away.

* * *

That night, Azula had trouble getting the campfire going. She had to stop and meditate for a while before she could so much as sustain a candle flame, and the flame was a sputtering yellow. Shingyung shook her head in the light of the campfire. "You're losing yourself in the noise of life. At least let me heal the wound on your face."

Azula crouched as far away from the campfire as she dared. "Don't touch me."

"Oh, are you still upset about the bounty hunter? I'm sorry, if I knew it would destabilize your humours you so much, I would have simply crippled her, and then had my organization dispatch assassins against her later. You shouldn't have to see that which upsets you."

Azula sighed. "I didn't want her dead at all. I don't care what I see."

"Oh. Yes, I see now." Shingyung stood up, and started walking to Azula. "You're in denial about your nature. You've killed on Kyoshi Island, killed back in the factory, but now you suddenly think you value life. It's okay to admit it, my dear. Mianju's death is making you regress back into Suki."

Azula looked up sharply to find the other woman towering over her. "What?"

"It's true." Shingyung tilted her head and put her hands on her hips. "I truly believe that there is something symbolic about it, and symbols can be powerful things. Nature and reality have been known to bend the will of symbols. Your body is trying to turn you back into something that can't be blamed for Mianju's death, for all the deaths you've rightly caused in your quest to survive. And that process is killing your Firebending. Here, at least let me heal your face. Azula's face."

Azula didn't move to stop her. Shingyung streamed a tail of water from her supply with a twirling motion of her arm, letting it bunch up around her hand. It began to glow as Shingyung put her hand over Azula's face, and once again that icy clarity flared through her skin and bones. It felt so good that Azula just closed her eyes and sighed as Shingyung moved the glowing water down along her Qi-paths. Too soon, Shingyung finished, and flicked the water away to splatter on the dry ground.

Azula opened her eyes, looked to the campfire, and took a measured breath.

The fire flared blue, grew in size, and shaped itself like a dagger pointed to the heavens.

"Now you're ready to finish the journey," Shingyung said.

* * *

"This is the place."

Azula looked up from the rocky path to the cave nested in the wall of stone above. "It looks natural."

Ahead on the path that would theoretically take them to the very peaks of the Chubang Mountains, Shingyung gave a heavy nod. "I would hope so. Our Earthebenders spent enough time crafting it. Come, the death of your uncertainty lies within."

They climbed up off the path to the cave, and squeezed through the gaping maw. Within, the cave continued its natural look as it extended deep into the mountain, but there was a strangeness to it that Azula couldn't immediately identify. Then, as Shingyung lead her further into the cavern, down the sloping ground and around stalagmites, she realized what was missing. Filth. The cave was completely devoid of dust, dirt, animal remnants, or even the lowest level of fungus. It was as clean as a healer's clinic.

It grew dark quickly, the more they moved away from the outermost chamber and entrance, but just as Azula was considering summoning a fire to see by, they reached a sudden sharp corner in the stone tunnel and emerged into a new area. The walls, ceiling and floor were smooth and met at perfect right angles, and glowing green crystals- all identically shaped- jutted out of the walls at regular intervals to provide illumination. Rooms branched off from the hallway at regular intervals, empty and echoing.

It all felt oddly familiar to Azula. Odd, and more than a little sinister.

Shingyung continued on without hesitation. Azula followed closely, and considered getting vengeance for June and Mianju now that she had more or less reached her destination. There was no one else in this cave, it seemed, and Shingyung didn't look to be paying any attention behind her-

Then Azula became aware of distant sounds echoing through the stone passageway. They grew louder as she continued along after Shingyung, until Azula was able to place the source of the noise to a certain room a short way ahead of her. It was clearly the sound of female voices giving short, sharp cries, like what could have been heard every day back in the Kyoshi Warriors' old training dojo. Before it burned down in azure flames.

Azula slowed as she approached the room, and angled her head to see into the doorway as soon as possible.

Inside was a nightmare.

Around _two dozen _women, every single one of them looking as much like Azula as Mianju had, were drilling in a basic Firebending kata. All the women moved slowly, and their legs and arms shook as though strained, but they kept up the exercise, snapping through punches and kicks. All of their perspiration-soaked faces were void of expression, and they each had their dark hair tied up in a classic Fire Nation topknot.

A vacuum formed in Azula's lungs that made her gasp, and she backed away from the room in abject horror. She only stopped when she bumped into Shingyung. Azula immediately spun to face her and took a defensive stance, but Shingyung just tilted her head. "Do you have a question for me?"

"_What is that?!_" It had all come out in one breath.

Shingyung shrugged with just her shoulders. "None of the girls we've recruited are Firebenders, and if they're going to successfully impersonate you, they have to move like the original you. The man I told you about, Dong Min, helped to develop a system by which a subject's limbs are broken, and then while they're undergoing accelerated healing with regular Waterbending sessions, they're taught to walk and fight again through extensive training in certain martial arts. We've managed to get the turnaround down to a single week." A ghost of a smile passed over Shingyung's face. "At the rate we're losing 'Azulas,' we have to keep the production line running."

"You're telling me..." Azula had to stop to get her breathing under control, but she couldn't keep the emotion out of her voice. "Someone is _mass-producing me?!_" Before she got an answer, a shadow moved in the corner of Azula's vision, and she turned instinctively to see a man in a dark green robe- a man she recognized despite having no memories of ever meeting- step smoothly down the hallway towards her.

"Not someone," Long Feng said with a smirk. "Me."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	11. Interlude the Second

**Interlude the Second**

_The Past_

_It was a beautiful little island. Sokka almost hated to hide a lie within its heart._

_He waited at the same shore where he, Aang, and Katara had first touched down on Kyoshi Island. That little incident hadn't been an entirely pleasant experience, between Aang getting himself attacked by a giant sea monster and then the whole group being ambushed and captured by the Kyoshi Warriors, but things had improved quickly after that. This time, though, he was the one awaiting the arrival of outsiders, charged with the safety and security of others. Only, for Sokka, it wasn't just the people of Kyoshi Island. It was the entire world._

_More or less._

_He took his gaze off the empty horizon and looked down at the notes in his hand. He had spent a lot of time constructing the needed narrative, but he wasn't entirely confident in his writing skills yet. The new events of the crossing of the Serpent's Pass, especially, worried him a bit. They were pretty complex, and he had to keep reminding himself as he detailed them which of the happenings would have been evident to the point-of-view he was writing for, and which were merely background. Maybe he should have Katara or Toph read them over, but wait, Toph couldn't read, because she was blind, and-_

_"There it is," Aang said from beside him. The others were up at the compound, waiting for the boys to bring their charge in._

_Sokka snapped his gaze up to scan the horizon and, sure enough, there was an object approaching through the sky in an artificially straight line. He couldn't see the details of the craft yet, but from its rate of movement, he could guess its nature with a fair degree of accuracy, given that he himself had contributed towards the design. The object resolved itself into an Appa-class mechanical airship, a balloon-flyer optimized to serve as a personal transport carrying a small group quickly and in comfort. Only a few existed in the world, and Sokka had personally assigned this one to his friend the Fire Lord. It was, of course, named Fang. Certain traditions had to be respected._

_The airship slowly but steadily sank through the air, finally settling on the sandy shore. Sokka and Aang waited where they were at the far end of the beach as the main hatch swung open, a ramp was extended to the sand, and the passengers began debarking. First came a pair of Fire Nation Crimson Guards. Then there was Zuko, dressed nothing like the Fire Lord he was supposed to be, walking stiffly and with heavy steps. He headed straight towards Sokka and Aang, trailed by his guards. He spared them only a nod of greeting before turning back to face his airship. "They're bringing her out now."_

_Sokka felt his stomach tighten._

_His insides needn't have bothered. Four more Crimson Guards carried a small palanquin out of the airship, and Azula was sleeping motionless on the platform. Mostly responsible for her lack of movement were the heavy restraints that bound her body tightly to the palanquin, but she didn't even try to stir as the armored Firebenders carried her across the beach. Drugged, then. The palanquin was followed by Lady Bokujin, and Sokka couldn't help but wonder if the Fire Nation healer had left the Home she ran out of a desire to watch over her patient's transfer, or if Zuko had simply paid her a fortune to do it. Probably both._

_Aang caught Sokka's glance and inclined his head over at the procession. "I'll lead them up to the compound." He was off with a gust of wind that rustled Sokka's clothes._

_That left just Sokka and Zuko to welcome the final guest coming out of the airship. Dong Min turned out to be an older man with a gray bush of chin-hair beneath a clean-shaven face. His robes used both green and yellow colors, but were otherwise plain in construction. "Sokka of the Water Tribe, I presume," he said as he walked over with a hunched posture. His hands shook as he brought them together for a shallow Earth Kingdom-style bow_

_Sokka put on his best smile and bowed back. "Scholar Dong Min. It's great to meet you. I mean, you know, finally in person, since we've already been exchanging letters and stuff. Anyway, I want to thank you again for helping out with this, and I have my notes here for the new history we want to construct but if it's okay I'd like to get some feedback on them first, but if you want to get started right away that's okay too because I think I'm mostly finished anyway and I can just do some quick editing while you make with the brainwashing or- ooh, I'm sorry, you don't like that word, do you? Um, I mean, the... uh, treatment? Anyway, why don't you just take the notes right now, I'll just mess things up if I do more editing, and-" Zuko's elbow cut Sokka right off as it dug into his ribs._

_Without even looking at him, Zuko easily took up their side of the conversation. "What my friend wants to say is that he's looking forward to working with you, and respects both your knowledge and your help. Why don't you tell him what you explained to me about the schedule?"_

_Dong Min looked back and forth between Sokka and Zuko, before giving a brief shake of his head and taking a long breath. "Yes. The schedule. Well, you'll have time to finish detailing the altered history. The first step will be overwriting the prime facts of the patient's life. Name, basic history, major life commitments, and such. Once that's firm in her mind, we'll do the detailed life history alongside the unconscious body language. That's going to be the tricky part, as we don't use hypnosis for that portion."_

_Sokka nodded. "That's where you do the 'mindbending.' Unleashing the power of our brains to make our own false memories."_

_"Precisely." Dong Min gave Sokka another look, this one steadier. "I've found that simple conversations are enough. We'll pair the patient with someone, perhaps you, who will talk to her about the events. It's important that you present the information as something the patient already knows, and get her to confirm the facts, even if she's not really sure. She'll want to be agreeable, and accept the information. Eventually, she'll lose track of what she truly remembers and what was merely described to her. It helps to add touchstone details, things she can use to build false memories around."_

_"I'll be doing some of that," Sokka confirmed. "We have an old friend of Azula's who will also be on hand for most of the work, but everyone we know has volunteered to help as needed. Even the locals are in on it. At least, those who need to be. Some of the local villagers, the Kyoshi Warriors... you know, anyone who would be familiar with the new identity."_

_Dong Min licked his lips before replying. "Well, there's no doubting your commitment to the project. We'll be making great gains for science with this. Great gains. Perhaps, Lord Zuko, I can write a paper on it all that your dynasty can hold in trust until after the patient's death?"_

_"...Perhaps."_

_Together, all three made their way up to the compound. Personally, Sokka thought of it as "Suki's Home."_

_He had decided that Azula's new name would be Suki._

* * *

The Present

It was a quiet little neighborhood on Gaoling's outer edge. The streets were empty, but Sokka could still hear the sounds of life around him. Children laughed and screeched from some hiding place, and the music of a pipa lute casually tumbled through the windows of one of the homes. Sokka turned to the girl next to him and shrugged. "I guess this is the place."

"Yay." Ty Lee ran a hand through her short hair, a nervous habit she had picked up recently. She was back in her old pink outfit, though, which Sokka decided was a good thing. It was better if no one linked the Kyoshi Warriors with their mission, and it might make her feel more secure after Suki- er, Azula- sheared her hair off and stole it for a disguise. "Do we knock, or is this one of those times when we kick in the door and tackle people?"

Sokka's eyebrows rose of their own accord. "You have been spending entirely too much time cleaning out the Kyoshi docks."

"Actually, that's how I was taught in the Fire Nation. Why do you think I like being a Kyoshi Warrior so much?"

Sokka wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke, so he just smiled in a very polite and neutral way as he stepped up to the house they had been seeking out. The windows were covered in curtains, and no sounds escaped from within. Hesitantly, he knocked.

No answer.

He tried knocking again, then sighed and turned back to Ty Lee. "I'll leave this to the professional door-kicker-inner, then. Try not to alarm the neighbors."

"Hold on." She tiptoed up to the door, leaned forward, and poked it with a knuckle.

It swung open without resistance.

Sokka felt his jaw drop. "You can Qi-block _doors _now?"

A ghost of a smile- a rare sight since they left Kyoshi Island- flicked across Ty Lee's face. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this place. I thought it was worth seeing if it was open."

Sokka nodded, drew his boomerang, and moved through the door behind his partner. It was shadowy inside, but the curtains didn't completely shut the sun out. They just filtered the light into a sickly green that splashed over the ruin within. Furniture was overturned and broken, scrolls lay in crumpled heaps below where they had hung on the wall, and lanterns had been crushed and thrown about.

The worst part was that everything was covered in a thick coat of dust. Sokka sighed and sheathed his boomerang. Ty Lee, meanwhile, just kept staring at everything with wide eyes, and squeaked, "What does this mean?"

"It means someone got to Dong Min before we did, a good while ago. It also means that I was right. He _is_ involved in whatever is going on." Sokka moved to the curtains and began flinging them open. He needed as much light as he could get. "It's too bad June's out working Zuko's bounty, otherwise we might have been able to get here quicker. Of course, we _were _busy, ourselves."

"_Ash_." Ty Lee's uncharacteristic swearing drew Sokka's glance. "All those rumors were nothing but _ash_. Azula isn't really making those attacks. She just wants to be left alone, I'm sure of it. She's not trying to conquer the world or destroy the colonies."

Sokka nodded as he ran his gaze over the whole interior of the one-room home. "Still, they were our best lead while we were waiting to hear back about Dong Min's past movements. The Earth King gave him enough coins to retire, but he really crawled into a hole and dragged it in after him. Although, it's a very nice hole he made for himself here. I've lived in worse."

There was a long stretch of silence before Ty Lee spoke again. "So, what now? Whatever happened here, Dong Min is gone. Everything we've done is for nothing."

Sokka turned to her and gave her a big genuine smile. "Dong Min may be gone, but this isn't a dead end. We can deduce a great deal from this, and maybe figure out where he was taken. Oh yes, _taken_. If this mess isn't the result of a kidnapping, I'm an Airbender."

Ty Lee blinked at him. "How do you know that?"

"It's elementary, my dear Ty Lee." Sokka walked over to the door she had tapped open, and pointed at the wall immediately around the opening. "Check out the coloration of the stone here. I didn't think to look for it until you revealed that the door had been left open, but there's a faint discoloration in a meandering line that wraps around the whole door. That's what happens when broken stone, even stone of the exact same shade, is fused by Earthbending. The point where the stones are joined is a little lighter, unless the Earthbender takes the time to precisely smooth the density. That the discoloration was left alone indicates that the Earthbender was in a hurry, since the job is otherwise very good. We can conclude that an Earthbender tried to gain entry, found the door locked, and simply broke down the chunk of wall containing the door. They fixed the door before leaving through it, then left it unlocked. Dong Min had uninvited guests, and left with them."

By the time Sokka finished that explanation, Ty Lee was leaning forward on her tiptoes. "What else?!"

Sokka tapped his chin as he thought. He wished he had his magnifier-hat and bubble pipe; for some reason, it always seemed appropriate to be working those props when he was deducing things. "Well, this mess in here wasn't an accident. I don't see any actual signs of a fight, especially if Earthbenders were involved. Whoever was here went out of their way to flip over furniture and wreck anything that was hanging on the wall or standing on a table. Maybe they were looking for something? Or else they wanted to cover up what actually happened here. But why do this if no one knew where Dong Min was anyway?"

Ty Lee ran a hand through her shortened hair again and then shrugged.

Sokka looked back at the mess. "No, they knew someone would be coming for Dong Min, eventually. The kidnappers found him, after all, and Suki is the whole reason everything is happening. They knew we would eventually realize that Dong Min had to be involved, and track him down ourselves. Because what happened to Suki required Dong Min's expertise. They want to make sure we can't go any further on the trail, and they did this so there was nothing left here that could even identify this place as belonging to Dong Min, never mind if he tried to leave any clues for rescuers."

Ty Lee nodded. "It sounds simple once you go through the whole thing."

"Yeah, that's the peril of explaining stuff. It looks smarter when you come up with solutions out of thin air." Sokka looked around again and began snapping his fingers. "That's how they knew everything! Dong Min had been to Kyoshi Island. He knew Azula was Suki. He had to know- or at least have some idea- how to wake Azula up. He knew what we all did with her. So why grab him if they already knew about Azula? _They didn't. They grabbed him because they wanted Dong Min for who he was, and got Suki as a bonus._" He turned to Ty Lee. "Please tell me that doesn't make any sense!"

Ty Lee immediately walked over to a spot where the floor wasn't cluttered with broken furniture, bent over and shifted so that she was standing upside down on her hands, and shut her eyes. "Okay, I'm in thinking mode. So, it sounds right in pieces, but put together the two things you said. They kidnapped Dong Min for reasons and found out about Azula, but they also ruined this place so that we couldn't find out anything more than Dong Min. How does that add up?"

"Hm, good point." Sokka drew his boomerang again and ran his finger against the sharp edge. Dong Min was the key here, but Ty Lee was right. He couldn't have things going both backwards and forwards. So which came first? It's not like anyone would go through all this trouble for anything but Azula. She was the center of the world, in a way, and pushing her out onto the world stage would-

Wait.

_Wait._

What if Suki was only the center of _Sokka's _world? He thought about her all the time, even before she became Azula again, but not everyone did. And Dong Min was a lot more than just the man who created Suki. That was why Sokka had sought him out in the first place.

Dong Min had discovered the science, and invented the techniques, that formed the foundation of the Dai Li's old brainwashing programs back in wartime Ba Sing Se. And everyone involved in the Dai Li, including some of the leadership who were never accounted for, would know who Dong Min was.

"What if," Sokka said slowly, "we add the remnants of the Dai Li to the equation? What if we sum all that up with the trouble in the colonies, the Invisible Hand, and the way all our efforts to make peace over there somehow seem to fail even before they get started? And we assume that they figured we would eventually realize what they were doing. Does that add up?"

Ty Lee somersaulted into a proper standing position, and looked at Sokka with quivering eyes. "I think we're on to something scary."

Sokka ground his teeth together and bit back a growl. Dai Li. Great, just what they needed.

* * *

_The Past_

_Today was the day. Sokka shouldn't be worried, really. The whole thing had already been going on for a while, and Sokka had watched every step. At this point, he was as familiar with Azula's face as he was with Zuko's. Sometimes, he even heard her voice in his dreams, chanting, "I am Suki, loyal member of the Kyoshi Warriors." Over and over, just like the waking hours. Sokka couldn't say they were pleasant dreams._

_He heard the sound of thick boots on the path, and turned to see Azula walking toward him on the path beneath the bright Kyoshi sun. They had cut her rare auburn hair when she first arrived, to keep her from feeling for a topknot, and the more femininely casual style really suited her. "Sokka. Here on Kyoshi Island. My home. Are you visiting? Welcome." She stopped and looked at Sokka with eyes that seemed glazed over._

_Sokka smiled at her. "Heya. Yeah, I'm visiting. We're friends, after all. I was just taking a walk; want to join me?"_

_"Okay." She immediately reached out and took Sokka's hand in her own. She had been doing that with everyone since they started the treatments. That and hugging people whenever she seemed upset. Physical contact seemed to keep her calm, make her feel secure._

_Sokka found her hand pleasantly warm._

_They walked along the path, and as expected, came upon the dojo of the Kyoshi Warriors. "Hey, check it out," Sokka said as though he hadn't been heading towards it the whole time. "Let's take a look." Azula went along with him into the box-like building, and stared around the interior with wide eyes. "Yeah, it's a pretty neat place. I thought so from the first time I saw it, but I was being all macho and couldn't admit it, remember?"_

_She turned a questioning expression towards him._

_Showtime. "Yeah, I was standing right here, dressed just like I am now, and was all, 'Sorry ladies! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson!' Can you believe it? I must have been really smarting from the way you and the other Kyoshi Warriors attacked us on the beach. Remember, you came up behind us, threw burlap bags over our heads and then dragged us into town and tied us to the big pole with Avatar Kyoshi's statue on it?" Through the whole description, Sokka acted things out as best he could manage all by himself and with no props. He thought he did a pretty good job, but when he turned back to Azula, she began laughing. "What?"_

_She laughed again, and a light was shining in her eyes._

_Sokka smiled back. "Anyway, yeah, so you apologized for the ambush, but I just couldn't meet you halfway. I said- I kid you not- I said, 'I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception.' I was lucky you didn't smack me right there."_

_Suki laughed again._

_Azula. Azula laughed again._

_Sokka's smile grew broader at her amusement. Sure, most of these were true events, with the speech and actions of various Kyoshi Warriors consolidated into the new Suki character, but his presentation was obviously making a strong impression. He described the rest of the day's events to Azula, playing it up a little because, hey, why not? Suki really enjoyed the part where 'she' forced him into a Kyoshi Warrior dress. Sadly, that didn't last as long as he would have liked, and he had to move on to Zuko's attack. He led her into town, and as planned everyone kept their distance but otherwise didn't react to them. He showed Suki where the Kyoshi Warriors had attacked Zuko, and prodded her into 'remembering' where she had fallen to the prince's Firebending attack._

_He finished the tour around the rear of one of the local's homes, where he had said goodbye to the Kyoshi Warriors and apologized one last time. "...and you told me, 'I am a warrior. But I'm a girl, too.' That changed my life, you know. Looking back, that was the first step in my getting over myself. I had a lot of hang-ups that I couldn't quite face yet, but that got me started."_

_It was weird, but Sokka couldn't even remember which of the Kyoshi Warriors had actually said that to him. Of course, the original line (he remembered it exactly) was, "We are warriors. But we're girls, too." Sometimes, Sokka considered trying to find out which one came up with it, but other times he thought it meant more coming from the Kyoshi Warriors as a whole._

_Then his thoughts were interrupted by the feel of Suki's lips on his cheek. Sokka blinked and looked at her in surprise, and he could feel his face burning. What was thatabout?_

_Suki grabbed his hand again, and she too was blushing. "You've become a great guy, Sokka. I'm- I'm glad I was able to help you."_

_Huh._

_Huh, again._

_Gradually, it dawned on Sokka that the sun was setting. It was time to get Suki back for another round of 'hypnotic programming.'_

_As he led Suki back to the path, Sokka tried to keep his mind focused on the long term plan, on the agenda for tomorrow, on the fictional life he had painstakingly created, but the only thing he could focus on was that Suki had kissed him._

_No, Azula had kissed him._

_Should he do anything about it? Tell someone? Nah, there was no need. She was just responding to his story in her typically physically affectionate way. Really, when you think about it, a quick kiss on the cheek worked perfectly with that line about being both a girl and a warrior. That's it. Maybe the next time he went over this story for her, he'd retroactively make it a part of the story, so that Suki wouldn't have to consider taking responsibility for it. Yeah. That was the way._

_No problem._

* * *

The Present

"Hey, Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean we have to give up on finding Azula before everyone else?"

"_Whaheehaw?!_" Sokka nearly fell off the eelhound, but he pressed his legs into the saddle and managed to keep himself upright. Without slowing his mount down at all as it bound through Gaoling's rich section, he turned his head to look at Ty Lee in the saddle behind him. She was sitting upright at the far end, keeping her balance easily despite the loping of the eelhound beneath them.

She stared at him with piercing gray eyes. "Well?"

There were a lot of questions that Sokka had no desire to answer about his life, like 'Why does your sleeping bag always smell funky?' But questions about his personal failures were right up there at the top. "I don't know. At this point, we have to figure that someone at least associated with the old Dai Li are involved in waking her up, and are probably mixed up with her now. The Dai Li were control freaks, so they wouldn't just be content to unleash Azula on the world and wait for her to cause general chaos."

A big, carefree grin grew on Ty Lee's face. It made her look a lot like the old Ty Lee, despite her new unwanted haircut. "So then we find Suki, beat up the Dai Li who are poking her into making trouble, and then she'll be free and we can all go back to being happy! She'll be sorry, and we won't have to worry about her becoming Azula again, and we can be friends without lies and you can really let yourself love her!"

"Ty, uh..." Sokka tried to swallow past a lump in his throat, without much success. "Ty, I promise, I'm going to track down the Dai Li, if they're involved, and beat them so bad even Toph will be impressed, but it's not going to be so easy to bring Suki in. She- things were bad on Kyoshi Island, and what she did wasn't the Dai Li's work. You and I know it was because of the situation, that she was scared and confused and maybe a little crazy, but even if she's sorry, things aren't going to be able to go back to the way they were. And they're not going to get better."

"Are you saying that even if we win, we'll lose?"

"No. I'm saying that our work isn't going to end when we find Suki. It's just going to become a new adventure." Sokka turned back to the road and pulled at the reins. They were coming up on their destination now. "That's why we tried to save her in the first place. To give her the chance we thought she needed. And, you know, despite everything that happened on Kyoshi Island? I think I'd give her another chance. But let's not worry about that until we find her. And for that, we need to check my sources. Maybe June can be persuaded to give up on Zuko's bounty and help us. She wasn't too crazy about how old and clean Azula's old stuff was anyway, scent-wise. I'm just glad all Suki's stuff burned in her hut. Hunting Dai Li must be way more fun."

He yanked the reins hard as the eelhound loped up to a sprawling mansion, giving the eelhound the signal to slow down. Sokka steered the animal around the side of the walled estate, to the servant's entrance, and drew an object out of his pocket as they approached the guards stationed there. The two men stared, then made out the object in his hand as a White Lotus tile and immediately relaxed. Sokka stopped the eelhound right next to them, and nodded all business-like. "Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. Checking in for messages on the network for me."

One of the guards bowed. "Wait here, sir. I'll check with the master."

It wasn't a long wait. Sokka had just enough time to figure out where the Bei Fong estate would be in comparison to this place when the guard came back with three scrolls that he immediately handed over. "Thanks, buddy." Sokka unrolled the first and read it right there.

Ty Lee leaned over his shoulder. "Well?"

"Hm, everyone is doing the usual, chasing down rumors about Azula attacking groups in the colonies, just like we were. Aang and Katara are heading south to investigate rumors there, because they figured Azula would be more likely to be close to Kyoshi Island. That's smart. Zuko was sending spies- oh, wait, the Earth King was sending spies on Zuko's behalf, that was very nice of him- to the city of Yang to follow up news about a building being burned down with blue fire."

Without even looking back at Ty Lee, Sokka unfurled the second scroll. "Hm, the follow-up says that the city authorities recovered a suspicious body from the site of the fire that Zuko's spies in turn _stole_. Huh, remind me never to be a real spy. Stealing corpses. Creepy. Anyway, the body was badly burned but still... _whoa_."

When Sokka didn't speak again, Ty Lee leaned full on his back to try to read what the scroll said. "What? Tell me! I can't see!"

Sokka read it twice more before he finally answered. "They thought the body was Azula's, but they managed to smuggle it back to the Fire Nation- I guess they hired a Firebender heat-specialist, that's usually how you keep things cool on a long trip without a giant Fire Nation engine to power things- and Zuko confirmed it wasn't his sister. But they found something he wants my opinion on. He didn't even trust it to the White Lotus." He passed the scroll back to Ty Lee to read, and picked up the third. "And, finally, an update on... oh, hey, June's bounty. It says that... _her body was found in the colonies_, and witnesses say she was attacking two women, a _Waterbender _and a warrior in light armor; they walked away and she didn't."

Ty Lee was once again leaning over him, looking for hidden secrets in the paper. "Could it be Suki?"

Sokka swallowed, and looked up and into the distance. "I don't know, but it could be. How she hooked up with a girl Waterbender, I have no idea. Maybe she was hurt and needed healing? Anyway, we need more info. And Zuko needs me in the Fire Nation. I have to check in properly and talk to someone in the know."

He twitched the reins, and the eelhound darted off like an arrow from a bow. Like an arrow from a bow, it was heading towards plenty of unpleasantness.

And Sokka was along for the ride.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	12. Song and Dance

**Song and Dance**

Azula knew that smirk. She had no idea how, but from the shadowy depths of her own ruined mind came a feeling that was rock solid in its urgency: she had beaten the owner of that smirk so decisively that he should never feel safe smiling around her again.

It was a good starting point. As Meisai had taught her, back on the deck of _The Hidden Gem _as it sailed into The Crucible, 'Your Inner Fire is the one weapon that no one can take from you. Don't disarm yourself by letting it fade.'

"You," Azula said, her voice as cold as the cave air around her. "Long Feng."

Still sporting that smirk, the former Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se nodded. He wasn't dressed in the fancy style of the Upper Ring, but he still wore his plain robes with a certain polished confidence. "So you remember me. In a way, that's unfortunate. We didn't part on the best terms. It would have been better if we could start off fresh."

Azula frowned as she tried to recall the details of what she had been told about Long Feng after he lost his power in Ba Sing Se. The old nauseous feeling came back, dizziness and an overall feeling of ache that threatened to knock her off her feet. Azula allowed her mental focus to be deflected and breathed deeply of the underground base's dead air. She knew, in an academic sense, that Long Feng had once been the head of Ba Sing Se's old Dai Li organization, a corrupt secret police force that had locked the massive city in chains of lies and conspiracy. Aang and Sokka and the others had exposed Long Feng's evil and sent him to jail, but he had made a deal with... well, with Azula to hand the city over to the Fire Nation.

That's all anyone knew. By the time the Order of the White Lotus had liberated the city, Long Feng was long gone and no one knew how or where. It was speculated that Azula had even ordered his execution, in the days before the war ended. Members of his Dai Li- both those who stayed behind in the Earth Kingdom and a small contingent who had been transferred to the Fire Princess' direct command- had likewise vanished, but it was assumed that they had gone to ground as fugitives from both sides of the war.

Aang and Zuko had assumed. Sokka had assumed.

It all clicked in Azula's head, and although she had no memories of what she had done in her previous life, she realized that the Dai Li was not as dead as it had seemed. "And so you've been seeking revenge. All this time you've been nursing a grudge against the person I used to be, and so you struck at me on Kyoshi Island, and turned the former colonies into one giant trap designed to destroy me. You've been shaping and manipulating an entire countryside just to destroy the teenage girl who beat you."

Long Feng's eyebrows rose. "I'm afraid I owe you an apology. Perhaps Shingyung does as well. It seems we've given you the wrong impression and caused undue stress." Azula turned her head to glance at the Waterbender standing quietly behind her; she had forgotten that the other woman was even there in the hallway with her. Long Feng continued in a smooth and even tone, "You see, you're not so much a victim of our machinations as you are an unexpected complication in them. We thought you were safely out of the way on Kyoshi Island when we began, and your presence in the independent colonies now threatens to ruin everything for us."

Azula blinked at him. "Then what are you doing in the colonies? With the attacks, and the... everything!"

"I suppose I'm going to have to show it all to you," Long Feng said with a sigh. "Well, we might as well start with the evidence immediately at hand. We needed a universally reviled enemy against whom we could unite the people of the colonies, no matter their nation of descent. An icon of everything wrong with the war and the world. Naturally, we picked you. Come, I'll show you our latest batch."

* * *

Azula walked amongst the ranks of her duplicates. They were lined up in precise rows that gave her more than enough space to wander amongst them. They all remained blank-faced and unresponsive, although they had followed Long Feng's command to halt their training. More than a few were swaying slightly on their feet, and some of them were trying to ignore trembling calves. Azula recalled what Shingyung had said about their legs having been broken, and how the women were being forced to learn a fighting style based on Firebending even while they learned to walk again.

For that alone, she wanted to destroy the Waterbender. And Long Feng. But first, she needed information.

That didn't mean she couldn't accomplish something now.

"Don't make them stand," Azula said. She barked it like the orders she used to give to the Kyoshi Warriors during a mission. "They're tired and they're hurting. They can sit down and still be the little visual aid you want."

Long Feng shrugged. "As you wish. (Ahem.) _Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, you will assume a comfortable position._"

As one, all the women sat down and leaned to avoid putting pressure on their legs.

Well, that was one small victory. Now Azula just had to figure out what was going on and how to either dismantle or steal it. No problem. "Are they all brainwashed? How long have you... did you _kidnap _them?"

Shingyung stayed silent and lounged against the room's door with a small smile. She was covering the exit, most likely, in case Azula tried to run. Long Feng, however, stepped out into the midst of the duplicates, his hands clasped casually behind his back. "Yes, we kidnapped every single one of them. We started with former members of the Dai Li's Joo Dee program, since their minds would already be pliable, and we could try to use any programming that hadn't been found and purged. However, at the rate we're losing them, we've had to expand our 'recruitment.' Just like how we found the original Joo Dee women, we're taking people of the right age and height whose disappearance won't be noticed. In many cases, their lives are better now than what they left behind."

Azula looked around at the oblivious women, at the sea of topknots spread out around her. "Their faces are too similar to mine for it to be that simple." She found she was frowning heavily.

In turn, Long Feng's smirk had returned. "Simple? Far from it. The _recruitment_ is comparatively simple, but shaping the raw material is quite complex. You've heard how we teach them to walk and fight like Firebenders who have lost their power. We've found that Waterbending healing can, when performed by an expert, accomplish many wonderful things. We do a series of traumatic surgeries on their faces, precisely destroy their existing bone structure, and then use continuous Waterbending healing to aid in the recovery and shape the bones into an imitation of _your _visage."

Ignoring Azula's wide eyes, Long Feng continued speaking in a light voice. "Of course, it wouldn't stand up to anyone who really knows you, but it's enough for those who saw you infrequently or at a distance, or even on a Wanted poster. And the entire procedure doesn't leave so much as a single external scar. I suppose their bones might betray evidence of our work, but it's unlikely that circumstances will ever favor _that _discovery."

Over on the other side of the room, Shingyung shifted in place.

Azula could only stare at Long Feng. He was _mutilating these girls' faces_ to make them into his tools? What was done with his 'Joo Dee' program was bad enough, and Azula had personally experienced something just like that, in spirit if not actual mechanics, but this? "You're awfully forthcoming about your awfulness. And I thought _I_was a monster. At least when I hurt people, I make it clean."

"Is that so?" Long Feng's eyebrows rose mockingly. Azula managed to keep from flinching as the sight of Ozai's (father) scalded face flashed through her mind. "As for myself, I feel that the ends justify the means and this is all for the greater good, but I'm sure even Sozin thought himself justified in his actions." His gaze shifted away for her for a moment, and his hesitated before speaking again. "I suppose that in my darker hours, I've come to accept many things about myself an my work. As for why I speak so bluntly about it, I've merely decided to hold nothing back from you. I want you to believe me, and to do that, I thought it might be worthwhile to simply tell you the truth."

"The truth." Azula almost laughed out loud. "If I've learned anything from what was done to me, it's that I can't trust anything that comes out of someone's mouth. Especially someone already involved in massive conspiracies."

"Very wise." Long Feng stroked and his beard and smiled in a way that _wasn't _taunting or superior or smug at all. "That's why I'm going to offer you a way to verify everything I tell you, once we're done. I'm confident that once you've satisfied yourself, you'll be content to leave me alone to my work."

Azula gave a snort. "Don't hold your breath for that. You _are _torturing these women and using them to turn the entire world against me."

"No, I'm turning the world against _Princess Azula_, a facade that you've already shed most effectively, even if you have remembered your true history. And all of that hate will be allowed to die down once we've accomplished our real goal."

"Which is?"

Long Feng motioned all around him at the lounging duplicates. Amidst a sea of ruined lives, he spoke a rising tone that echoed off the dark stone walls. "I'm using a common enemy, an enemy of legend who seems to be attacking all of the major population centers in the former colonies at once, to unite these chaotic independent settlements into a single United Geniocracy. A new nation made up of people from both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, and people who never owed allegiance to either. I'm bringing together Firebenders and Earthbenders, and creating a force that will achieve the ultimate harmony. A new nation. The _greatest _nation."

Azula blinked at him. "United _what?_"

"Geniocracy. Rule will be consolidated amongst a talented few, those best able to guide the former colonies into prominence and fight off the attempts of the other nations to maintain control."

Azula had to suppress another snort. "And let me guess, you'll be the one to lead or select these 'talented few.' Why not just say you want to rule your own nation?"

"Oh, Azula." Long Feng shook his head. "Do you think I've learned nothing from my mistakes? Or perhaps you've merely been disillusioned by the actions of the Avatar and his friends."

"I _have not_-"

"I'm going to retire after the decision to unite the colonies into a single nation has been made. All of this work, everything I've done to shove the world into a glorious new future is because..." He held his hands out at his sides, a half-shrug to which he bent his back. "I just want a _home_, a safe place to live. I'm merely an organizer, someone who has facilitated communication between politicians, the wealthiest merchants, and the masters of what will soon be the most powerful force on the planet: _industry_. And yes, I've brought my own flair and methods to the plan, but only because manipulating populations is something I've done before. And I certainly have no desire to create Joo Dee's for the rest of my life. I'm just like you, Azula. My sense of enlightened self-interest has me working for a place where I can just be left alone."

Azula felt a shiver go up her back. How dare he? "You don't know _anything_ about what I want! You- you're nothing a petty little dictator who will break anything just to get what he wants! Everything I've done has been in self-defense, and I don't even have anything to _do _with all the reasons people want to hurt me! Those memories are gone!"

"Come now, Azula. I've been making duplicates of you for too long now not to know you. Your maker and destroyer, Dong Min, shared everything with me." He began walking forward again, approaching Azula directly. She felt the urge to back up, but there was no shelter to be found in any direction. She was just as vulnerable as the duplicates sitting around her. Azula shifted into one of the defenses Meisai had taught her, one that left her body relaxed but stoked her Inner Fire by harnessing her Qi and will to fight, and waited to see if he was actually going to attack her.

Instead, he just talked as he walked, until his face was right in hers. "You were once the Fire Princess, Ozai's secret weapon. After you went insane under the pressure, you were subjected to techniques that _I _invented. I understand the compulsions that make you squeamish about hurting people, but they're completely artificial. You've been traipsing about, poking your nose into everything, and when people pushed back you've destroyed on a scale that no other single person in the world is capable of. That's why these duplicates keep dying on me. They're given the same urges, but not the lifetime of training that you've had. Your every action is an expression of the true Azula, even as you fight back against it."

Azula's voice emerged from a whisper. "You _will _tell me what was done to me. Everything. Right now."

Long Feng bowed his head. "As you wish. Let's go someplace we can talk comfortably."

* * *

The room was made of the same dark stone as the rest of the complex, lit by the same sickly green crystal, but some effort had been put into making this room more suitable for human occupation. The table in the center of the room was of the royal style, high enough that chairs were required to sit comfortably at it. A bowl of fruit rested on top of the table, while a thick rug ran underneath its legs. Long scrolls boasting paintings of glorious sunset vistas were hung on the walls, and a small babbling fountain had been carved into the wall opposite the door.

Long Feng looked quite comfortable sitting at its center. Shingyung, once again, contented herself to lean against the door.

Azula herself took a seat opposite Long Feng, and leaned heavily on the table. "Start with this Dong Min. Who is he?"

"Ah, excellent choice. Dong Min was a specialist of the mind who held a professorship at Ba Sing Se University. He worked directly with patients, talking with them to both uncover the reasons for their ailments and then help them find their way to healing. Along the way, he discovered it was possible for the human mind to trick itself, to take an outside suggestion and turn it into an artificial memory. A recollection of something that didn't really happen. On a small scale, it's quite plausible: someone mentions a detail that you don't really remember, but it fits with everything else you do recall in a specific memory and so you add it to your mental impression. What was stunning was that it could be done a much larger scale, too, with the right therapies. A person could be convinced that a loving parent had beaten them as a child, with as firm a conviction as if it really happened."

A flicker of a smile reached Long Feng's face, and he continued, "I had joined the Dai Li by the time Dong Min published his paper on the subject, and my job was to read all of the University's publications and either approve or censor them for dissemination. This particular paper caught my interest, and I contacted Dong Min about using his discovery to aid in law enforcement. As you can guess, things expanded from there."

Azula's eyes narrowed into a glare. "Indeed. You've made a science out of brainwashing women. How lovely for you."

"Oh, not just women. There were no bounds to what we could do. We even turned a young man, one of the Avatar's friends, into both a plant with false information and a secret assassin who attacked on command."

Azula leaned back in her chair. "And this is what suggested my fate to my- the Avatar and his friends? They wanted to do the same thing to me?"

Long Feng gave a little wave of his hand. "I don't know. Personally, I suspect that your brother considered you an embarrassment, but the Avatar wouldn't let him kill you. So Sokka of the Water Tribe was either put on the task or wormed his way into he matter and eventually made contact with Dong Min about his expertise. I only learned of it when I tracked down Dong Min after it all to help with my own plans. The Dai Li are gone, but I knew where the pieces of the old organization lay buried. The idea of using your identity suggested itself after Dong Min told me what he had been up to. I thought it would be quite elegant, since you no longer had any use for your name. Your being this 'Suki' was perfect, since Fire Lord Zuko couldn't produce you to dispel the rumors of your return. Then your father escaped, and created this unseemly complication for both of us."

Azula crossed her arms over her chest. "And that's it. Ozai- my father- somehow learned of what happened to me, made his own way across the world, and freed me from the programming in time to see your master plan reach its high point. All without any involvement from you."

"The other choice is to believe that I wanted you to track me down, and so I freed your father from prison, somehow convinced him to serve me, and knew you so well that I could anticipate you heading straight for the colonies and my organization after the programming was broken. Ever since I heard of your return, I've been wanting to meet with you, but only so that I could diffuse the situation myself."

Azula had to admit, it did sound rather unlikely when he put it that way. "And what's her story?" She jerked a thumb over in Shingyung's direction. "How does she fit into this?"

Finally, the Waterbender spoke up. "Oh, it was a classic case of the perfect employee finding the perfect employer. I was a servant to a colony governor who Long Feng approached with his idea of creating a new nation. My energies were inflamed by the prospect, and I knew that my Destiny had finally called to me. When my former employer refused the offer, I killed him and gave my skills and resources to Long Feng." She had been strutting forward the whole time she talked, and when she reached the table she leaned down on the edge and smiled at Azula. "I like to think I've made myself useful."

Long Feng motioned at her. "She's been a member of my brain trust, along with various power players throughout the colonies. I expect she'll go quite far after my retirement. She has her quirks, but she is an excellent administrator."

Azula shook her head. So many answers, and yet she was receiving so little real satisfaction. "How do I know I can believe any of this? I- can I talk with Dong Min?"

Long Feng's face scrunched up with a deep frown. "He... ended his own life, between your escaping Kyoshi Island and making contact with Shingyung. He was... upset about the casualties amongst the duplicates. He had hoped we could deprogram them after our work was done. He always did find working for me to be quite stressful."

"So there's nothing, then. Just your word."

Long Feng's eyebrows rose. "Oh, not at all. I have something even better. Shingyung, please give her the notes."

The Waterbender stood up, reached into her sleeve, and produced a heavy roll of papers tied with a string. She licked her lips and said, "Please do not damage these. Perhaps they will bring you peace, but it is frequently said that circumstances must get worse before they can better. If I may say, I expect that this discovery will only further plunge you into chaos, but it will still be good for you take back control of your existence."

Azula took the papers and immediately snapped the string with just the strength in her fingers. She looked at the first page, and felt her stomach lurch as she recognized what she was seeing.

It was Sokka's handwriting.

Sokka's stupid, nearly illegible brushwork.

She flipped through the papers, and sure enough, they were all written by him. She glanced through the stack, and a picture quickly formed itself about what she had just been given. She didn't even need to read everything; lines like, "Phase 3: Dong Min will end the direct hypnosis and Suki will be released into Kyoshi Island proper under Ty Lee's supervision," said it all. Sokka even kept a diary of events, listing a day number along with a description like, "Spent all day today listening to Dong Min tell Azula her name is Suki and that Azula doesn't exist. I fell asleep and dreamed the name Suki over and over. Freaky." She even found a section of papers that read like the freeform notes for plotting a novel:

'...may be too complex to keep Azula's appearance at the Serpent's Pass and then get her to the drill in time to launch the attack on the Outer Wall. Maybe I should cut Azula out entirely and let Suki save Toph? But then the Serpent's attack will just seem like random bad timing. I guess that's not completely unrealistic but I like events to fit together a little more logically than that. But then, maybe I need to get over stuff like that. Aang is always telling me that I can get too obsessed with making everything fit. Okay, so if Azula isn't at the pass, then I guess what we'll do is have Suki escort us right from the beginning instead of being a last minute rescuer...'

He-

He-

He had _plotted_ her entire life like a _children's story!_ All those memories, all those images she had in her head about her life as Suki, were written down right here in the _exact _manner that she remembered them. "They put these into my head with therapy?"

She couldn't tear her eyes off the pages to look at Long Feng's expression, but his voice burned her like a flame. "Therapy, casual conversation, hypnosis. The more detailed the memory, the harder it is. The system starts put forcing you to accept a summary of events, and then ongoing conversations add more layers of details until you forget that you never really saw any of it."

Azula flipped through more of the pages. There was even a diary entry for a time he took her out, showed her the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo for the first time, and 'revealed' how they had first met. She _remembered_ how he started off so macho and stupid, then revealed himself to be strong enough to apologize and honor her. She remembered _falling for him_. And it wasn't real. It was a lie he invented, just for her.

And the writing was all so Sokka. It was his unfiltered voice. It was his unique handwriting. It was undeniably the truth.

Azula blinked back tears. "Where did you get these?"

Long Feng spoke almost gently in reply. "Fire Lord Zuko confiscated everything having to do with your... treatment... once the work was completed. After Dong Min told us about you, I arranged for some of it to be stolen. Those notes aren't complete; amidst the filthy lusts this Sokka recorded and his plans to turn you into his plaything, there are references to earlier diary entries that aren't included, from the time when he was researching ways to solve the problem you represented for your brother. I suspect that however your father learned about you, it involved the missing notes and materials. However, there are other sources of that information."

Azula nodded, and made to stand up. "Sokka himself." That was that, then. This whole time, she had fooled herself into believing that she was seeking out the truth, but she was really running from it. The only way to find peace was to confront the people she had believed were her friends and get the truth out of them. There was a good possibility that they already had a trap set for her, that if she went to any one of them she would be captured and brainwashed again, or simply killed this time. Or maybe they would just forgo the deception and turn her into a little Joo Dee that Sokka could command. If they still could, without this Dong Min. Azula felt a lump in her throat as she thought about how she had ached for Sokka to be with her back on Kyoshi Island, an ache that he had probably requested to keep her loyal when he was too busy elsewhere.

But right now, Azula didn't care about her eventual fate. She wasn't even the real Azula, not truly. She was a broken twisting of two minds that no longer existed, a lie that no one cared to believe in anymore. In a world where _Long Feng _was her only ally, Azula almost preferred the pain and weariness to just end. She sniffled, and willed herself to hold the tears back. She knew she would have to cry eventually, but she didn't want to do it here. She wanted that one last dignity, at least.

"Well, yes. Sokka of the Water Tribe would know." Long Feng's eyes narrowed. "And everyone involved the conspiracy. Like the Earth King."

"The Earth King?" Azula stopped mid-motion. "What do you mean?"

Long Feng nodded. "I've thought about how to help you further. The original conspirators might be your only remaining source for answers, but they're completely untrustworthy at this point. However, Dong Min was clear that the Earth King was consulted and briefed on the whole thing. He was even the one to convince Dong Min to do what Sokka was proposing. And I know him, he couldn't tell a convincing lie to save his life. If you talk to him, I'm sure you could quickly discover everything you want to know. Threaten his bear if he gives you any difficulty." His voice was casual, and his expression was blank. "We can get you into Ba Sing Se, of course."

Azula thought about it. She really did. But, in the end, as broken as she might be, she was still in charge of her own life for now, and she would not surrender that to a man like Long Feng who ground through lives in pursuit of his grand visions. Azula might have hurt people- perhaps unjustly- but she regretted it, at least.

Long Feng only regretted his own losses.

"No," Azula said. "Thank you for your help, but I can manage on my own. I'll be taking leave of you, now. Don't worry, I won't reveal what I've learned about you. I find that I really don't care." She stood up and turned towards the room's door-

A flash of purple dress consumed her vision as Shingyung, swaying hips and all, made her body an obstacle in Azula's path. "Oh, my dear princess, let us help you. We have a room for you, and you can rest your mind and body while we prepare your way into Ba Sing Se."

Azula let her voice grow hard. "I infiltrated it once before, apparently. I can do it again. Let me leave, before I decide to seek justice for _your _crimes."

"Azula," Long Feng said, "I really think it best if you accept our help with this."

Instantly, Azula got the sense that paranoia might just be the order of the day after all. Shifting into a Firebending stance, she barked, "_I_ really think it best if you _get out of my way_."

At the table, Long Feng sighed. "I wanted to do this the peaceful way. Bring them in."

The door was yanked open, and two tall men wearing Firebender armor over green tunics pushed into the room. They immediately took Earthbending stances, but didn't attack. Azula swung to face them, intending to make the first assault, and so got a good view of Long Feng's true intentions.

Two more armored Earthbenders slid into the room, but these men were holding hostages in front of them. It took her a moment to recognize them beneath their stone gags and ragged clothing.

One of the Earthbenders held Captain Toru of _The Hidden Gem_.

The other held Toru's daughter, Meisai.

Both of these people, the sailors who had aided her and taught her and treated her like a friend, stared at Azula with wide eyes.

Azula's mind immediately began analyzing possibilities. Meisai was a Firebender and a trained soldier, so if Azula could get her free, she would be able to assist in taking out the Earthbenders. They would have to fight hard to beat them surrounded by stone like this, but Azula figured that they would give priority to Long Feng's safety, so if she or Meisai could grievously injure him, it might be enough of a distraction for them to get out of the room with Toru and get a head start down the hallway. Azula was fairly sure she could remember the way back out to the cave, and then they would be stranded in the middle of a mountain range with no supplies, but Azula was _not_ going to give in to Long Feng and she was _not_ going to let Meisai and Toru remain his captives because _look at what he had done to those poor girls who now wore Azula's face _and-

Even as Azula was twisting her foot to properly angle her body and bring up her fist up in what would be a precisely aimed fireball attack, she suddenly found her momentum twisted and increasing as-

As a stream of water so heavy that its impact _hurt _slammed into her back and exploded to wrap around her limbs.

Azula tried to tuck into a roll, but she caught a glimpse of Shingyung moving along behind her, and heard the sound of the woman exhaling deeply, and suddenly the water and Azula's wet clothes hardened into a solid mass not unlike the stone of the mountain in terms of unyielding strength.

Azula literally froze to a halt, but her mind was racing, and she realized that her face was uncovered and so she had breath enough to heat her skin and that should melt the ice enough to-

And then Shingyung streamed another heavy wave of water out of the decorative fountain on the other side of the room and dropped it on Azula's head hard enough to leave her ears ringing. "Stopping being a bad girl, Azula," Shingyung practically sang.

"Surrender," Long Feng added. "If you do, we will let your friends go. We will take you in, in comfort. We will assist you in infiltrating Ba Sing Se. Continue to resist, and we will kill Meisai. She was your Firebender master for a short time, and to endanger her life is to dishonor her teaching. Then, we will beat you. If you are still conscious and try to resist again, we will kill Captain Toru. And then we _will _beat you unconscious. And then you will be at our mercy, and most uncomfortable. Surrender."

Sore, dizzy, stuck to the floor, and frozen solid, Azula seized on the one sure thing she could. "Y-y-you will let them go. I am n-n-n-not surrend-d-d-dering. I-I-I am saving their l-l-lives. I w-w-will sa-a-a-ave everyone f-f-from you, and I will k-k-k-kill you." Then Azula closed her eyes and relaxed her freezing muscles.

"Semantics," she head Long Feng say. Then another blast of water slammed against Azula's head and everything went black.

* * *

Long Feng gave a long sigh and let his body fall into a slump. "It's been a while since I've had to put on a performance like that. I suppose I was out of practice, or else the Princess would have accepted my offer. Still, it seems she believed the rest, so I did well enough."

He was almost alone in the room with the fountain, now. Shingyung was guarding the unconscious Azula while she was being transported to one of the specialized treatment rooms, and the soldiers had taken Meisai back to the cells for one last temporary stay. Long Feng needed a moment to relax, as it was going to be a long night yet with Azula's treatment set to begin.

Besides, it was only polite to talk with his old friend for a moment.

"Well," Toru said with a glare, "you sure fooled me with your song and dance, there. Sounded to me like you really would have hurt my daughter if the fire princess kept fighting."

Long Feng looked up with a smile. "Toru, we know each other too well to pretend. Your daughter was in no danger. Between the Earthbenders and my pet Master Waterbender, Azula wasn't going anywhere. Your presence was simply an extra guarantee, so that we could take Azula without risking her life." His smile grew tight for a moment. "But yes, I would have really hurt your daughter if it somehow came to that. As I said, you know me well."

Toru looked out from beneath his bushy gray eyebrows. "But you're letting us go now."

"Of course. _With _the reward I agreed to. You never pretended to like me, even when you worked the docks in Ba Sing Se, but you must admit that I always paid you for your tips, and I always gave a fair amount."

"Aye, it was good money. As was what you paid me to keep tabs on the princess on Kyoshi Island." Toru stuck his hands in his pockets and turned away. "But this is the last time. I wouldn't have even done this much if it weren't for Meisai. She deserves to not have to worry about getting arrested every time we set into a port with Firebenders around."

Long Feng straightened, and made his voice as soothing as possible. "And her name will be cleared. Fire Lord Zuko doesn't guard his lists of deserters anywhere near as well as he does his person. I already have the people in place to take care of that little trouble for you. It won't even cost me anything."

Toru nodded heavily. "Aye, then. You should get me back to a cell now. I don't want Meisai to get suspicious."

"Believe me, old friend, there is no detail I haven't accounted for." Putting an arm around Toru's shoulders, Long Feng guided the man towards the room's door. "Tomorrow you will be freed, and then you and your daughter can live your lives free of the sordidness of your histories. Have a good night. The guard will take you to your cell."

Once he was alone, Long Feng sat down at the table again to wait. He reached over to the papers that had been scattered across the surface during Azula's fight, and assembled them back into a neat stack. He had copies of all of Sokka's notes, of course, but the originals were still valuable in their own way, as he had just proved. Not to mention that their current owner would be quite mad if they were ruined. He was fastidious about his property that way.

As if summoned by Long Feng's thoughts, the door swung open again and Dong Min himself stepped in. "She is ready to begin?" He couldn't quite keep the trembling out of his hands.

Long Feng stood up, and held out the stack of notes. "Your old patient awaits. Let's get to work on her."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	13. Candles in the Darkness

**Candles in the Darkness**

Azula had been lost in the dark for countless eternities, and saw an endless stretch of darkness before her.

Her world consisted of only three things. The first was the darkness, heavy and rough as stone, which draped over her world and her sight and her body, and seeped into her ears and eyes and mouth to drown her mind. Her brain was a fortress, a keep deep within the heart of enemy territory, which was under siege. The second aspect of her world was the voice, the heavy and droning voice, that rode the waves of darkness into her mind and worked away at the fortress walls like armies of wraiths and war spirits and things she couldn't even imagine. The legions of the voice scraped at the substance of her brain and drilled holes into its sides, so that the freezing darkness could flood through and soak her to the marrow of her bones.

The third thing was the lantern, and even though the light pushed at the darkness, it was still an enemy. It was by the steady comings and goings of the light in front of her face that she could sense the passage of time. It was much like the sun in the that way, except the lantern did not have the strength to cast away all the darkness, and it had waxed and waned so many times that Azula could only despair of rescue coming, for if it were possible then surely it would have happened one of these centuries.

She suspected that the lantern was an agent of the darkness, a shadow that had inverted itself simply to mock her.

Azula sat in the dark, bound to a shade of night that could have been a stone chair for all its roughness and lack of comfort, and cowered deep within the castle of her mind while the legions of the voice hammered away at its walls. The hammering drove all cleverness from her, leaving her to simply curl up within her brain and futilely cover her ears against the hammering.

She knew she couldn't hold out.

She would have to accept the voice, believe what it said, and do it homage.

She would have to bow to the dark and admit that it would always cover her life.

The only question was if Azula would be able to preserve any sense of self once the assault was done.

She suspected the answer would soon ring across her being, and it would be a harsh rasping, "No."

* * *

Meisai had lost track of time in captivity, but not her ambitions.

She woke up in a wooden cart smelling of dust and the road. Her senses were obscured, and as the fog cleared from her mind she realized that it was because a black bag had been drawn over her head. It kept out light and muffled sound, but it could not stop Meisai's perception. She was a soldier of the Fire Nation, and although she had betrayed her country, she still had the training and skills of the greatest military in all of history. Her hands and legs were bound with ropes, but her mind was free.

The cart itself was easy enough to figure out. It rattled heavily around her, all wooden noise, so it must be traveling through rough countryside. Nothing pressed against her but the wooden slats at her back, so she was the cart's only cargo. Or so it seemed. "F- fahhh," she tried to say. Her tongue was thick in her mouth and everything was dry, but a little thing like that wasn't going to stop her. "Fff- Fffah-ther?"

"_Shut up back there!_" The voice came through the wall behind her, but it was not obscured by anything but the bag over her head. There had to an opening in the wall of the cart, then. So she was being observed, but they didn't care that she was awake. This was either going to be very good or very bad.

Next, she tried to stoke her Inner Fire and summon at least a feeling of heat within herself. It shouldn't have been hard, as the air was warm and dry around her, but she still had difficulty. Fire required fuel, and though she would have Qi as long as she had life, she hadn't been eating properly since... well, since she had been taken captive, whenever that was.

The memories of her captivity coalesced to fill the void in her vision. One night she had gone to sleep in her cabin on the _Hidden Gem_, and the next day she had woken up in a stone cell without a window. A heavy metal door covered the only opening, and the only thing that came through that door were armored Earthbenders carrying trays of food and empty chamberpots. They hadn't asked her anything, hadn't made a sound at all, and the only way Meisai could even tell they were coming was when the floor suddenly opened up to swallow her feet and keep her from even thinking of escaping.

They had fed her rice and water, and only just enough to avoid sickness. They didn't want her Firebending, even that far from the sun.

The only time she had left the cell was when she had been used against Suki...

_Azula._They had called her Azula.

Meisai's captivity hadn't lasted long after that. The final time the door had opened, an Earthbender guard carried something other than the usual necessities. He had a black bag that he had forced over her head, and Meisai had barely drawn her first breath of the odd-smelling air within before she lost consciousness.

And now she was in a cart in undeveloped country. Like she said, either very good or very bad. The fact that she was alive was already a good sign.

After a short time, the cart came to a halt. Across from Meisai, a creaking door was yanked open with a rattle that was partially metal- the door must have had a bolt on it- and a body hoisted itself inside. Meisai's body was the next thing hoisted as her captor grabbed her by her tunic and pulled her out the door. She had a brief sensation of flying before the hard dusty ground welcomed her home. Pain jolted through the shoulder that had taken the brunt of the landing and then settled down to a meaty ache. So, probably bruised, not dislocated or broken.

Then a second impact hit the ground beside her, and the sound of her father's cry pierced through the bag over her head. He was alive! And at her side!

Then the cart rattled away, leaving Meisai blinded and bound in the open country.

_Under the shining sun._

She steadied her breathing and gave in to her anger at her captors, people who had stolen her out of her life in order to manipulate another woman. A woman who Meisai had taught and befriended. She focused on the anger, and connected it to the warm feel of the sun on her skin, then pumped the intangible concoction into her Qi and summoned that energy in the hands bound behind her back.

Her stomach growled, but a series of small flames ignited along the edges of her fingers. That was all she need; the ropes were strong, but burned quickly. Soon enough, Meisai's arms were free and she was tearing the bag off her head. She didn't even bother burning off the ropes around her ankles before dragging herself to the body next to her and freeing her father. He looked worn and exhausted, but he smiled at her when his eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

They were free.

Free.

* * *

Ty Lee had never come to the Fire Nation by eelhound before. It made the homecoming strange but exhilarating. She loved new experiences. Too bad this one was probably going to be a downer.

Sokka was intent on heading straight for the Fire Palace, and Ty Lee didn't disagree. She had no real desire to go home. That wasn't to say she disliked seeing her parents or her sisters, even though she didn't want to live with them, but explaining what was going on would have been too hard. Or maybe it was _admitting _everything that was hard. Ty Lee hadn't felt guilty about helping Azula when Sokka had first proposed his plan, or anytime on Kyoshi Island, but after the deception had fallen apart and Azula herself had accused Ty Lee of betraying her, she was a lot less sure about everything.

Everyone was unsure about everything. Ty Lee had never seen such a collection of ugly auras since Ozai was Fire Lord.

Sokka brought the eelhound right to the gates of the palace, and the guards waved them through without hesitation. They were escorted quickly through the palace, but not to the throne room. Ty Lee knew the way there by heart, but this time her path led in a direction she knew a small number of frightening childhood excursions: they were headed towards the basement.

Although it lacked light, Ty Lee didn't fear the stone basement now that she was an adult. It was really used mainly for storage, for things that needed a dry and cool place. As a child, with Azula telling her about all kinds of tortured Spirits that were supposed to live down there, every shadowy shape had been a potential horror, but now Ty Lee recognized them as casks of wine and cuts of meat and other mundane items that were no scarier than a dinner banquet. (Which could pretty scary in its own right, sometimes.) The guards brought Ty Lee and Sokka to a closed room deep in the labyrinth of the basement, at the end of a straight hallway, and they found Zuko waiting for them beside the door.

When he spoke, he sounded a little out of breath, like he had run to beat them there. "You got my message."

"Two days ago," Sokka said. "We didn't even stop to sleep. Ty and I took turns napping in the saddle."

Yeah, that hadn't been fun, but Zuko's note had sounded important. Ty lee ran a hand through her short hair as she recalled it. It said that Zuko had recovered, from one of the former colonies, a body that people had believed was Azula's. It turned out not be her somehow, but there was still something about it that he wanted Sokka to check out, and they had to hurry. Ty Lee couldn't imagine what could be so intriguing, but she had an awful twisty-stomach feeling about it. Zuko's aura was a very dark blue, almost mud colored, and Ty Lee had never seen him more afraid. Not even when he had returned to his father as a Prince of the Fire Nation and claimed to have killed the Avatar. (Zuko and Aang were friends now. That was good. Despite everything else, they were still friends.)

"So," she said, "what did you want us to look at?"

Zuko lowered his gaze, and his face went green. Not aura-green, his skin actually went a little green like he was ill. "It's hard to describe. Sokka should see it for himself. We've been keeping the body preserved down here, but it's good you got here quickly. I don't know how much longer we could have kept it as... viable evidence."

Sokka grimaced. "Wonderful. Well, we're here now, let's get this over with."

Zuko didn't move. "Um, maybe just Sokka should look?"

Ty Lee blinked in surprise. "Why?"

Sokka's face twisted like he already knew the answer, but Zuko just turned his head to hide the unscarred side of his face and said, "It's... um, not a pleasant sight. I'm not trying to disrespect you, but... but I think you would really be better off not seeing something like that. I know I would have been."

Ty Lee thought about arguing it, but then gave a sigh and nodded her agreement. Zuko knew her well enough, and it's not like she had any real purpose here. Sokka was the smart one, the one Zuko wanted to look at things and get all thinky about them. Ty Lee was just a helper.

A sidekick.

As the boys passed through the door, a chill wind escaped from room beyond, and Ty Lee shivered as she sat down to wait and leaned against the wall.

* * *

Once Meisai and Father had stood up and looked around, they discovered a town on the horizon. The cart that had carried them out here was nowhere to be seen, but the town was only a short walk down a stretch of 'road' that was nothing more than a strip of dirt only slightly less rocky than the land around it. Sadly, Meisai hadn't been wearing shoes when she had been kidnapped out of her bed in the middle of the night, and her captors hadn't seen fit to provide them. But then, they had let her go, so they were still surprisingly accommodating for criminals and agitators.

The town had a healing house, thankfully, and the matron who ran it took them in, immediately given them something to eat and drink, provided beds to rest in, and treated their scrapes, sores, and cuts. As the old woman had moved away to let them sleep, Meisai raised a hand and asked, "Can I have a knife?"

The old woman let her face go slack. "Whatever for, dear?"

"My hair. I like it shorter. It grew while I was locked up."

The old woman had eyed Meisai's hair, which was only just long enough to start sticking up in places, but she said nothing. She fetched a small blade and gave it to Meisai before closing a curtain around the pair of beds. That was a better reaction than her choice of appearance usually got.

The former soldier didn't even try to sleep. She could rest while awake, but she needed the time to think. And cut her hair.

Father watched while she worked, and when he spoke, it was in a soft voice that wasn't quite a whisper. "You're not thinking about going after them, are you?"

"Going after who?"

"The guys who kidnapped us. They let us go, for whatever reason, and we're free and in the clear. We should try to get back and see if our ship is still docked. That's our whole life, that boat. We have to look out for it."

Meisai said nothing, and sliced off another clump of hair.

Father sat up in his bed, and continued, "I know, it doesn't feel right leaving pirates like that out in the world, but there's nothing we can do. We don't know who they were, we don't know what they want, and we don't know where they are. It's like the folk you... you ran with when you left the Fire Army. We have to be smart about this."

Finally satisfied with what she could feel of her hair, Meisai put the scalpel down on the table next to her bed and laid back, but she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes and try to sleep.

Father took a deep breath before speaking again. "And don't think we have any debt to that... to _her_. She said her name was Suki, but they called her _Azula_ back in that room. The Fire Princess. The Mad Banisher. The Conqueror of Ba Sing Se. And the fires on Kyoshi Island were _blue _when they fell out of the sky, is what the crowd was saying. She lied about everything. She hurt all those people. She sold us a bum cargo, and that cargo was herself. She can rot in that prison for all I care."

Meisai let all the breath ease out of her lungs, and shut her eyes against the light.

* * *

The door flew open like it had been kicked, and Sokka stumbled out into the hallway. Ty Lee opened her mouth to ask what Zuko had shown him, but before she could get the first word out, Sokka bent over and vomited all over the floor.

Ty Lee squeaked in surprise and leaped to her feet, but Sokka ignored her. He heaved again, retching so hard that it sounded painful.

Zuko emerged from the room at that point, his good eye widening when he saw what was going on. His face was also, to Ty Lee's eye, pale and drawn. Whatever was in that room must not be pleasant at all. Ty Lee wasn't sure if she was glad she hadn't looked or sick with guilt that she knew herself to be too weak.

There were other things she could do, though. She unhesitatingly walked over to the Sokka and, paying no attention to his vomiting, leaned over him and began rubbing his back. "It's okay. Just breathe. Breathe."

She threw a glance at Zuko, and after a moment he managed to get a hold of himself and nodded. "I'll get some servants to clean this up. Just... um... just..."

"We'll just sit down here," Ty Lee finished for him. Sokka had stopped being sick, and subsided into quiet gagging. Ty Lee tightened her arm around his shoulders, led him over to where she had been sitting against the wall, and lowered him into a comfortable position on the floor. She rubbed his back again in silence while Zuko ran off for help.

She didn't rush Sokka. She didn't push. She did rip off a piece of the circus outfit she was wearing, one of the dangly dark pink triangles that hung from her waist, and used it to wipe Sokka's mouth, but she didn't speak at all. Her presence was enough for now, and he would release the poison in his heart when he was ready.

Soon enough, Sokka found a way to explain. "We looked at her skull. This woman. She- she looked just like Azula, but I could tell she was someone else. It was hard, though. She was... there were burns all over her. _Awful burns._The bone was visible and- and it was hard to see she wasn't Azula at first, and the burns on her face-"

His voice cut off in another gag, and Ty Lee moved her hand to his shoulder. "It's okay," she whispered.

He swallowed several times, and then began speaking again. "It was the bone Zuko wanted me to look at. The parts of her skull that were visible were... weird. I've seen plenty of bone from all the hunting I've done. Her skull didn't look like real bone. It was like... like an Earthbender had taken dirty white sand and compressed it into the shape of a skull without smoothing it up. It looked like I could have shattered it with a tap of my boomer- ulk..." Another set of gagging overtook him.

Ty Lee waited again, but he didn't resume speaking before a palace servant appeared with a mop and began working at the mess on the floor. Sokka watched him with dull fascination, going very still, and Ty Lee decided that he shouldn't spend so much time in his own mind right now. "So what does that all mean? That's what Zuko wanted you to see, right? So you could figure out why."

Sokka nodded heavily, and turned to look at Ty Lee with eyes that were starting to water. "I have absolutely no idea what to make of it," he rasped. "This- this is awful. Suki is out there, and everyone is trying to kill her, and... and I can't figure out the clues that I have. I saw a mess of a human body with random parts of its face burned away and what looked like _an indentation of a thumb in the bone _and I'm too young and naive to even understand what that means. Everyone, they... they all think I'm smart. They think that I can look at all the things they've shown to their advisers and kings and wise men and I can just... figure it out. Figure out what no one else in the world can."

Ty Lee smiled and squeezed his shoulder gently. "They told me you were 'The Plan Guy,' when Zuko and Mai first introduced me to you after the war. They really respect you."

Sokka nodded, but the tears didn't stop forming in his eyes. "They think I'm some kind of genius, and always look to me when things get really bad. I try, but I can't do it. I'm- I'm clever enough to outsmart a bunch of bored soldiers, but... I'm not... smart enough. I couldn't save Yue and… _no one _is as smart as they all think I am. So they show me these things, and Azula is gone, and the only thing I can think of is that she could be all burned up just like that poor woman in there and no one will ever know. I could have already failed her. Because I don't know how to find her, and I ran off anyway like an idiot. I fell for my own reputation. And that's the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Ty Lee wanted to deny that, to tell him how brave he was for knowing that Suki- Azula- needed rescuing instead of hunting, but Sokka spoke again before she could find the words. "I'm not who everyone thinks I am. I'm not who I thought I was. I'm a lie. Just like Suki. I'm a lie and I forced her to be a lie, too. And that's why really why the whole thing fell apart. The universe loves irony."

He turned away, and the tears finally fell from his eyes.

* * *

The walls of Azula' fortress were coming down, and she was ready to surrender.

She no longer had any hope of surviving the assault. At this point, alone in the darkness and surrounded by enemies, the only hope she had left was that she would survive this torture. Every word that the voice spoke hammered at her will to resist, and when one punched a hole through the resistance, it rushed into her and stabbed her right in the heart. As each word made its way within, another blade of night cleaved her being. She was lying like a tattered rag on the floor, slowly losing more and more of herself, and she swore that if she were allowed to exist she would do whatever the voice wanted, become its willing and happy pawn, but please don't make her into Nothing please please please please-

Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Kuei._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Fifty-second._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Bosco._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Long Feng._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Dai Li._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Dong Min._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Corrective behavioral therapy._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Lake Laogai._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Ozai._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Ursa._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Suki._ Another word marched up and stabbed deep within her. _Amnesty._

Azula sobbed and offered her life and her love, but the words kept coming like a wave of shadows consuming everything. She was alone in the night, and feared to look for herself, lest there be too little light to see by.

This was the end.

* * *

Ty Lee nodded at Sokka's words, but that wasn't to say she agreed with them. She spoke softly as he she continued to rub his back. "I know what you mean. Really, it comes down to Identity, you know? That's how people label things. We come up with names, and nicknames, and reputations, and we fit everyone into those words so that we can understand each other. The Plan Guy. Circus Freak. Even stuff like Avatar and Fire Lord. And our names! People say, 'Who are you?' and we say, 'I am Sokka,' or, 'I am Ty Lee,' or 'I am Nobody.' People use them to limit each other, and if we aren't careful we fall into that same trap and we use them to lock ourselves in cages, like an animal in the circus."

Ty Lee sighed long and heavily. "Those cages are our bad thoughts. Expectations. Getting too full of ourselves. Even just spending too much time on the stuff we think we're good at and ignoring whatever else we might be able to do, if we just gave it a try. We think, 'Well, if everyone says that I'm just silly Ty Lee, then maybe I'm nothing but silly Ty Lee.' And I try every day to be the best silly Ty Lee I can be, and that seems to keep everyone happy."

Lifting her hand from Sokka's back, she reached over and tugged his chin so that he faced her. She smiled, and continued, "But you're not happy, Sokka. You're getting crushed by your Identity. I can see it, you know. It's a beautiful identity, but it's wrapped over your shoulders and it's dragging you to the floor. But I know that's just junk. Everyone had something to say about you. Zuko and Mai, your sister, the other Kyoshi Warriors. They all have an Identity for you, but when you put it all together, you get this wonderful person who is bigger than it any little piece of it. You thought you were just a warrior back in the South Pole, right?"

Slowly, he gave a nod.

Ty Lee nodded back. "But then you discovered that you were a good friend, and a really smart guy, and a leader. You grew beyond your old Identities, and you can grow beyond the ones you have now. I grew beyond just being another spoiled rich girl, into a happy circus freak, into an unhappy hero of the Fire Nation, then a Kyoshi Warrior who actually helps keep people safe, and now I don't even know what I am."

Sokka stared into her eyes, and finally spoke. "You," he whispered, "are the best friend Azula ever had. And one of my best friends."

Ty Lee felt her face warm. "And you're the man who saved Azula's life. Plus, one of my favorite people. But that's just more for you to grow beyond. Let it all go! Don't worry about what everyone wants you to do, or what you think they expect you to do. Or what you expect _yourself _to do. That's when you'll figure out what's really needed, because you really want to save Azula again, and we're too beautiful and complicated to sit here and worry when there's still a way."

He stared at her, and there might have been a little light deep in his gaze.

* * *

Meisai opened her eyes, and met Father's stare. "I _knew_ who she was. Not her name, but that she was the one who attacked Kyoshi Island. I figured it out by the time we got to the colonies." Father started to say something, but Meisai cut him off. "I could see the guilt in her eyes, and hear it in her voice. Even while she was lying she was telling the truth about how she thought the person who did it was a monster." She tapped her own chest, and continued, "I used to be a soldier for the Fire Nation, and thought I was saving the world. Now, my own Fire Lord says I was a deluded fool who was _killing _the world. Even after I first heard that, I didn't get it, and started working for people who were up front about how they were hurting people who didn't deserve all the pain we were forcing on them. Now I'm hiding from it all and trying to find a way so that none of it bothers me."

Father's eyebrows drooped as she spoke, and he shook his head vigorously. "No, stow that garbage. We all make mistakes, but you realized what you were doing and stopped. You're not hiding, I'm giving you a home. I'll always give you a home, as long as you're alive. I know I weren't there for you as a kid, but I- I-"

Meisai smiled at her father, and sat up so that she could reach over and take his hand. "F- Daddy. You've been wonderful. You accepted me without even a frown. And that's what we need to do for Suki, or Azula, or whatever she wants to be called. She lied, yeah, but she wasn't making up the sound of her voice, or the way her Inner Fire felt when I trained her. Maybe she made some bad mistakes, but she doesn't want to hurt people, and those thugs who kidnapped us want to hurt her. And she doesn't have anyone else in the world to help her. Maybe she won't accept us, but we're the only ones now who can offer her a home. I have to try. You don't have to..."

She trailed off as she saw her Father's face grow tighter and tighter, and she really thought he was going to ask her to leave him out of it, but then he sat up in his bed and said, "How are we going to find her?"

"They mentioned Ba Sing Se, when they were using us to make her surrender. That's where they're sending her."

Father sighed and nodded. "Then that's where we'll have to look. I've been to those docks. But we'll need a ship if we want to get there quickly. We'll look for the _Hidden Gem_, and if it isn't still where we left it, we'll find berth on something else. But we'll try."

Meisai finally leaned back and let the tension ease out of her. "Thank you."

"I can't say no when my daughter asks me for something. Wouldn't be right."

* * *

Sokka swallowed and wiped his eyes. "Thanks. I needed to hear that. And I thought Katara was into the hopey-happy speeches."

Ty Lee couldn't keep a giggle from popping out of her mouth. "She doesn't have to worry about competition. I'm just being Silly Ty Lee again."

Sokka smiled back, and was about to say something more when his face suddenly went slack and his gaze lost focus. "Wait."

"What?"

He didn't respond, didn't act like he even heard her. Sokka just stood up, closed his eyes, and cradled his head in his hands.

Ty Lee waited, and tried not to let her worry show on her face.

After an eternity, Sokka's eyes flicked open again. "I'm getting it. All the little bits, all the clues, they're forming a picture."

"A picture of what?" Ty Lee hopped to her feet and clapped her hands together. "You know where to find Suki?"

"No." Sokka said it flatly, and his gaze was still aimed somewhere that Ty Lee couldn't even comprehend. "I don't have any idea what it's a picture of, but... it's a picture. I can tell that now. There are some lines and dots scattered over a big empty space, and I just realized that if I connect them right, I'll get a picture. I can _see that there's a picture now_. Dai Li, Dong Min, Azula imposters, the colonies, and Azula herself. Dots and lines. I just need to fill it in. And I know where the blank spots are now."

"Okay. So, how do we do that?"

"Data! I need data! I can't make... things... without... other things. I need more information!"

Ty Lee waved in his face, and when Sokka's eyes finally focused on her, she said, "How do we get that?"

Sokka finally smiled. "Zuko is going to write a letter for me."

* * *

_Help_, Azula moaned from the deepest darkness that had ever existed. The words, the entire army of words, reformed into a massive crushing voice. It had combined with the shadows to make a single imposing presence that felt like Death itself. She was lost in a sea of nothingness, and she could feel that any moment now she would collapse under the pressure into a pinprick of nothingness herself. Soon, even the name of 'Azula' would be worthless, for there would be nothing that 'Azula' could possibly mean.

_Goodbye_, she said from the edge of the void. She had no choice about accepting her fate, but a Princess surrenders with Honor. _Dad… Zuko... Sokka... Mom... good... b-_

The darkness and the voice pressed down together, and for an instant, she thought she was gone.

Then a light flared, golden in color, and pierced the shadow through its dark heart.

The shaft of light rained down on Azula, and she realized that she was still alive. There was still an Azula. Her body and mind had not been purged of will. She looked up into the light, and a smile grew on her face. _Thank you. But how can this be?_

At her plea, she felt the light grow warmer, and it was like being in her mother's arms all over again.

_Everything is going to be all right, Azula. I couldn't stop the dark from laying its traps, but together we will get through them. Just trust me. You have strengths and depths you never realized._

Azula could feel, instinctively, that she could trust this ray of beautiful light, but she could not deny her controlling nature. _Please, what is going on?_

The light grew wider, brighter, and lifted Azula up out of the eternity of darkness.

_My name is Suki, and I'm here to rescue you._

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	14. Traveling in Rings

**Traveling in Rings**

It wasn't that Azula had a problem with Ba Sing Se. It was just that she had no idea how she got there.

Somewhere ahead of Azula, there came a call of, "Next!" It bounced off the dark stone walls of the underground receiving center, and the line of people shuffled forward one place. Azula moved with them, but her attention was elsewhere. For a moment, the echo had seemed oddly familiar. It wasn't the voice; Azula had been hearing it and several others at intervals for the last few hours since she got in line. There was something about the echo effect, the shadow-spawning rock around her, and the feeling of being below the surface of the Earth that seemed to resonate with her. Why would that be familiar?

Why would it give her a feeling of being hunted?

Azula shook her head and put the thought out of her mind. _Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that. _The mantra calmed her instantly.

There came another call of, "Next!" The line shuffled forward again.

As she moved, Azula was once again struck by the need to check her bag. It had come with her all the way from Kyoshi Island, and it would be coming with her into Ba Sing Se (and hopefully beyond). Azula peeked into the sack, and sure enough, the contents hadn't changed: several sets of brown clothes, a good supply of copper and silverish coins, her Kyoshi war fans, a knife, her passport and papers, and a map of Ba Sing Se that she had purchased at the Full Moon Bay Ferry station.

Azula had carried this bag from Kyoshi Island. Of that much, at least, she was sure. It made sense that she would bring her passport if she planned on traveling, the clothes seemed like something she would wear and buy, and there was no doubt that the coins would be useful. It's just...

Azula wasn't sure where she had gotten the coins.

She had escaped from Kyoshi Island on the _Hidden Gem_, and traveled through the former colonies in search of the rebels who might be able to help her discover the truth behind "Suki." She had gotten as far as Yang, and she was fairly sure that something important had happened in that city. She had... met people? The details were vague, but Azula was sure that she had succeeded at whatever she wanted to do there. There was a warm glow in her heart when she thought about it. With help, she must have managed to puzzle out some of what had been done to her, and figured out that there were people in the world who Zuko, Aang, and Sokka would have been forced to depend on in the plot to make her their slave. Those people would be much easier to get the truth out of, and the easiest of them all would be the Earth King. And so she set out straight for Ba Sing Se.

It was just... she should remember the journey all the way from the west end of the continent to the east.

Shouldn't she?

There were snatches. She recalled riding an ostrich horse, she recalled taking a ferry over a wide river. She had a strong impression of violence, of having to fight for her life, but...

Had someone died? Who?

Azula shook her head again. _Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that. _She was certainly used to gaps in her memory by now, and this didn't seem like anything important. Perhaps she had sustained a head injury during that fight she barely recalled. She could see a healer when she got into the city proper. At least she seemed to be getting better. She distinctly remembered her stay in the city of Huaqiao, with its odd mix of stolen Fire Nation culture and Ba Sing Se pretensions. She had indulged in paying for a real hotel, and got a very good night's sleep. From there, she had joined a convoy of refugees from the colonies heading for the Impenetrable City itself, eventually coming to Full Moon Bay. She distinctly remembered the dingy but well-stocked ferry that took her to this very receiving station, where she was now applying for entry to the city proper.

She also distinctly recalled what the other refugees had talked about on the trip. "They say that Fire Princess _Azula _has been sighted in the area," one traveler had said. "I heard about," a bodyguards-for-hire had replied, "it was right on the other side of the Great Lake." Naturally, just hearing her name spoken like that made her nervous, as it kept her at the forefront of people's thoughts and so more likely to get caught. There was some urgency, though. Some... some need to do... something. Why did she want to do something about those rumors and supposed sightings?

Her instincts must be guiding her. Telling her to deal with those rumors once she completed her immediate quest. Completely logical. _Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that._

Relaxing again, Azula heard another cry of, "Next!" She found that she was at the front of the line and so, putting on a bland smile, she stepped towards the first open clerk's window and pulled her documents out of her bag.

* * *

Processing Clerk (First Class) Cheng Xu held back a sigh as the next refugee... er, _immigrant_ stepped up to the window. She used to like her job- eight, ten years ago when it seemed like her ticket into the Middle Ring- but these days it was just depressing. It had all started with the last years of the Hundred Years War, when the Lower Ring had descended from just Ba Sing Se's most open community to a poor, overcrowded, crime-ridden slum. That, of course, was the Fire Nation's fault for attacking the Earth Kingdom and driving its people from their proper homes. Things were better when people stayed where their ancestors had put down roots. Then the war ended, and now instead of getting better, things were only going further into the dumps. These days, there were _types_ like this young lady sliding her passport under Cheng Xu's gaze, _types _looking to put down roots in the greatest city in the world.

The woman's face might as well be a map of the Fire Nation. Never mind that reddish tint to her hair...

And these "colonials" were trying to flee the chaos they made for themselves back home, but still bringing it along with them to Ba Sing Se. What next, a Fire Nation embassy in the Upper Ring?

The immigrant woman- her passport said her name was Shingyung of Yang- smiled politely. "Is everything in order?"

Cheng Xu grunted and finished her examination. It was a proper passport all right, with all the right seals and stamps. It could have been printed in Ba Sing Se itself. "Yeah, yeah," she said as she put the papers down flat on her tray. "Ever been to the city before?"

Little Miss Shingyung shrugged. "This is my first time out of the colonies. I know people who immigrated during the war-"

"Well, things have changed since then." Cheng Xu stamped Little Miss Shingyung's documents and pointed to the far side of the receiving center. "Bring your papers and go into that door. That's where you'll take your entrance test. Your results will determine what permits you will be awarded. If you cannot take the test now, you can enter the Lower Ring, but you will not be allowed to travel until you complete the test. Those permits will also be needed to even take a job in the Middle and Upper Rings, so don't pin your hopes on some slumming Upper Ringer discovering you and taking you home. Understand?"

Little Miss Shingyung gave a short bow. "I do. Thank you."

Cheng Xu grunted again as the other woman turned and headed to the testing rooms. She calculated the hours until lunch, and then barked out, "Next!"

* * *

The _Hidden Gem _was, wonder of wonders, exactly where they left it. Meisai couldn't help but frown when the harbormaster escorted her and her father to the dock where they had moored the ship all that time ago. "And you just let it sit there waiting for us?"

The Harbormaster shrugged. "Its berth fees were paid up just before you left, sitting right on the desk in my office with a note. I'm not saying I can't be persuaded to overlook a minor rule or two with the right gifts, but I have one of the most honest ports in the colonies. As long as I have my money, I'll look out for you."

Well, that was hard to argue with. Meisai turned her gaze on her father, who was staring at his ship with a smile and what looked like misty eyes. Considering how long it had been since they last saw it, she could completely understand. "I don't suppose," she said, "you paid up before we were kidnapped?"

He dried his eyes and threw an askance glance over at her. "Where would I have gotten the money for that after the cargo we just bought before… the thing? But I'm not questioning gifts from the Spirits. Our ship is _here_, Meisai! We're going to be _okay!_"

The corners of her lips quirked upward at her father's enthusiasm, but Meisai still found the situation a bit worrying. The only people who could have possibly arranged this were the abductors themselves, but why would they do that? Between the kidnappers letting her and Father go free when they were finished with their business, and now this, they were proving to be the most considerate criminals in the entire world.

She was a sailor now, a member of her father's crew, but she still found herself professionally offended. Did those criminals think a soldier of her caliber was just going to accept all this? Well, she would have to for now. Suki- Azula- needed help.

Turning back to the harbormaster, she said, "What about the rest of the crew?"

The harbormaster shook his head. "When you didn't turn up, they had to find other work. No one left _them_ a stack of coins. The first mate did leave a message, though. Said that if either of you two was ever found, to tell you the crew was just going to forget the details of life on the _Hidden Gem_. If I hadn't walked through your cargo hold myself, something like that would have had me suspicious."

Meisai had to fight off another urge to smile. There was more to life on that ship than the cargo, and her daily Firebending exercises were a major part of that. The crew were good people, and it would be tough to find another group that loyal. Unfortunately, they needed to find such a crew in short order.

They had to get to Suki before it was too late.

* * *

Azula was actually having fun with Ba Sing Se's entrance exams. There were questions of finance, of Earth Kingdom culture, of business custom. Currently, Azula was identifying the various elements of a certain classic Omashu poem that could be interpreted as symbolic and making her best guesses about what they represented. That didn't take long, and soon she was on the last set of questions. The answers came to her quickly; she easily figured out the mathematical questions, even the ones involving trigonometry, and had no trouble dredging all kinds of historical trivia out of her memory.

It was that realization that got her feeling uneasy again. Something about her success was wrong. But what could it be? There didn't seem to be any new elements to her state of mind, so what else could account for the change of mood? Azula ran through the memories she had since her awakening on Kyoshi Island, and it struck her that something was _missing._

Why wasn't she feeling sick when she tried to recall information that Suki couldn't have known? Why was she instantly able to access academic skills that only a noble of a highly advanced nation would have been taught, when she still couldn't remember most of her life as a princess?

Strange.

Azula took a deep breath and let it out again. _Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that. _This test might be her ticket to Upper Ring access, and she was going to need that if she wanted to infiltrate the Earth King's palace. She needed only fifteen more minutes to complete the test, and then she rose from her desk and brought the papers up to her proctor.

While she waited for her grade, Azula took the time to review her map of Ba Sing Se. All the gates between the various rings were marked, and she was annoyed to find that there was a considerable distance between the palace and its nearest gate to the Middle Ring. If she were pursued coming out of the palace, which would be likely, she'd have a long trek before she could get back to narrow alleys and places to hide. She would have to account for that in her plans.

"Shingyung, your grade is ready." The voice of the proctor echoed off the stone walls, and Azula got that sense of déjà vu again. Shaking it off, she folded her map and reported at the official's desk. Without looking up from his stack of papers to grade, he handed her a set of stamped certificates. "Good job, perfect score. Here are your permits. Middle Ring living access, Upper Ring working access. You can only use the latter with stamped proof of employment. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."

Azula frowned. "I thought I got a perfect score. I still can't get into the Upper Ring without a job?"

The proctor finally met her gaze. "Your test score isn't the only thing that's considered. We don't normally let _anyone _from the Fire Nation into the Upper Ring, but your test grade was perfect, and so it was determined that your employment could benefit the city."

"I'm not Fire Nation, I came from the colonies."

"What's the difference?" The proctor rolled his eyes and then slumped over his desk again. "Have a nice life. Please respect the rules."

Azula ignored the burning in her heart and stomped off. Who needed their stupid permits anyway? She had walked straight into the Earth King's palace once in her life already, even if she couldn't remember it. She'd just have to do it again.

_Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that. _It struck Azula as odd that her little mantra would have come to mind in this situation, but it wasn't anything worth worrying about. Her feelings of unease were not important, after all, and she had a mission. She had to focus on that.

And with that focus, it occurred to her that maybe the easiest course of action would just be to just steal an Upper Ring job.

* * *

Meisai had never really liked stories about criminal adventurers or pirates. Her time as a soldier in the Fire Nation colonies had only turned that apathy into outright hatred, having seen what such types actually did for a living and the victims those crimes produced. Yet today she found herself strolling into an unfamiliar dockside tavern looking to hire a daring crew so that she could go save a princess. (Sort of.)

Life could be both cruel and benevolent, but it was also pretty weird, sometimes.

Meisai let her gaze travel over the tavern's interior. The air smelled to her of grog and smoke and stew, mixed with the ripeness of unwashed bodies. There was nothing special about either the worn wooden taproom or the people crowded into it, but that was okay. "Nothing special" could also translate to "nothing I'm not prepared for," a situation that all professional soldiers could appreciate. The patrons mostly looked like sailors, with the usual scattering of professional companions, and there was more variety in the tattoos they all displayed than in their faces.

Meisai drifted over to the bar itself while she scanned around for familiar faces, indications of honor, or signs of financial desperation. Any of those would get Meisai the trustworthy crew she needed. Without even looking at the bartender, she dropped a copper coin on the counter and said, "A mug of whatever won't kill me." Barely a second later, she heard the sound of a full wooden mug clunking down beside her coin. "Thanks."

Only then did the bartender speak. "A ship or a crew?"

"Excuse me?" Meisai turned to bring the man into view. As was usually the case in both stories and real life, he looked like an aged sailor who had cashed in his savings to buy a dockside tavern. (Meisai desperately hoped he was a spice merchant for whom life had taken an odd turn. A little variety would be nice, here.) He was examining the coin that Meisai had paid, but at her query he looked up again.

The bartender started to reply, stopped, and then squinted at her. "By the First Mud. You're a woman." He blinked his surprise away a moment later and relaxed again. "Anyway, I was asking if you were looking for a ship or a crew. You've had your eyes washing over everyone here since you stepped in the door. And if you were looking for someone specific, you would have found 'em by now."

"Fair enough." Meisai nodded and took a sip of whatever was in her mug. It was awful, of course, and tasted like it had the alcohol content of the stuff they had used to clean the treads of the Fire Army's tanks. "I'm looking for a crew. Got a cargo we have to pick up in Ba Sing Se, and the offer will expire very soon."

The bartender nodded and his expression turned expectant. Meisai waited a few heartbeats for his reply before she finally realized what was going on, and then she dropped another coin on the counter. In response, the bartender put a smile on his face and leaned forward to palm the tip. "Got a few people here looking for work. You got a preference for red or green?"

"Let's say I'm colorblind."

"Then your pickings aren't bad. Most of the people here were born with Earth under their feet, but there's a group of steamers who are landlocked until they can get a hold of parts to fix their ship. Small metal tub, decommissioned Fire Navy. I hate those things. But I'm not saying nothing about having a certain color preference, hear? The steamers in red seem ex-military. That kind is more disciplined, you know? But it's your choice."

That was certainly true enough, but the chill that ran up Meisai's spine felt strong enough to quench her Inner Fire. Ex-military types in red were people who could possibly recognize her name from the publicized lists of deserters; she might even have a small bounty on her head. But she was just one of many such fugitives, and she had typically worn a face-obscuring helmet back in her enlisted days. It might just be worth the risk.

Swallowing, Meisai dropped another coin on the counter. "Point them out to me."

The bartender twitched his head towards the far corner, where the most shadowy booth was situated, then nabbed the coin and moved off to service another customer. Meisai held back a sigh and began making her way towards her supposed prize, preparing for a fight even as she burrowed through the crowd. She had hoped to approach the fire sailors unobserved, but just as the booth came fully into her view, one of them turned to look right at her with eyes like a hawk.

She stopped in place and had to stifle a gasp. He was tattooed, like most of the tavern's patrons, but his tattoo was on his face.

It was the mark of the Yu-Yan Archers.

The man made a hand motion and the rest of the group immediately stopped their quiet conversation and turned to look at her. They were an odd group, especially for one that was supposed to be ex-military. In fact, they looked more like pirates, an eccentric group of five heavily muscled men with beards and clean chins and bald heads and one who had feathers sticking out of his topknot. One thing that united them, though, was that all looked _mean_.

Meisai knew she couldn't back down now. Taking a deep breath, she finished her approach. "I heard you were all looking for work. My captain needs a crew for a fast trip to Ba Sing Se. We'll pay the standard rates."

The men all exchanged glances. The one with the feathers growled, "Ba Sing Se is a long way. (Don't sing it, Ogodei.) Why should we leave our ship to go along with you?"

Meisai blinked at that. She had thought that they would be more than eager to earn some money while their boat was out of commission. But she could be surprising, too. "Because there are only so many places where civilians can buy parts for Fire Nation ships, and no one is paying you to go to Yang City."

The men all exchanged glances at that, and then because it was the way things worked in the pirate adventure stories, the guy with the feathers shrugged. "Fine. When do we depart?"

"As soon as you're on the boat. We're the _Hidden Gem_, the cargo junk on the east dock. I'm Meisai, speaking for Captain Toru."

Feather Guy nodded. "I'm Mongke. That's Ogodei, Yeh-Lu, Kahchi, and the tattoo-face is Vachir. Looks like you have a crew."

* * *

The Ba Sing Se Receiving Center opened directly into the first station on the city-wide train line, and even that little glimpse of the city nearly overwhelmed Azula with a crushing sense of _people_. Old people, young people, fat people, thin people, men and women in pale tunics with patches, men and women in rich robes lined with what could have been real gold. Azula stood in their midst, the only one with a reddish tinge in her hair, and could do nothing but hope that her face was as much a cipher to them as it was to herself.

She had conquered this city. How much of it had she seen? Had she stood in this station, dressed as a Kyoshi Warrior, and boarded a train to the Upper Ring?

The station stood elevated over the rest of the buildings, with the wall facing the city opened into a series of arching windows, and the sprawl of Ba Sing Se rolled off into the horizon. Azula could make out the other side of the Inner Wall in the hazy distance, but it was easy enough to mistake this view for a glimpse at a limitless vista.

Lowering her line of sight, Azula saw the city's lanes pulsing with the life of moving crowds like the flow of blood through veins. Had she once looked out over this pulsing city, as she announced the Fire Nation's victory to the populace, and felt like she had conquered the whole earth for her father? Or had she holed up in the deposed Earth King's palace and hid from this intimidating and almost bloody view while the Dai Li kept the bureaucracy running?

It was strange, actually knowing something about her life but lacking any useful details. She had no scraps of memories about her time in Ba Sing Se, no familiar feelings or flashes of insight. All she knew was what Suki had been told, on the occasions of her visits to Ir- Unc- Iroh's teashop, but now that she was here she found that she really didn't know anything at all. Had that been purposeful? Was the lack of details meant to keep her Azula identity suppressed? Then why tell her anything at all? Why even bring her here? Was it a cruel joke, or had Sokka not yet begun to tire of her?

_Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that._

Azula took a breath and focused her attention on the arriving train. She moved with the crowd, careful not to jostle anyone and draw attention to herself as she boarded. By the time she was in the train car, all the seats along the walls had been taken, so she was forced to stand while the train started moving. A conductor came through to check everyone's ticket, and several stops later, he came again when the train was ready to pull out of the station built into the Wall between the Lower and Middle Rings. Azula let him inspect her travel documentation then, but she knew she would be politely thrown off the train at the station leading to the Upper Ring without proof of employment.

Long before that, though, she had finalized the details of her plan.

She had surreptitiously examined the other passengers in this train car, and watched the ebb and flow of the crowd at every stop. There were three who had come up from the Lower Ring and stayed on down the whole line, their clothes betraying their low economic class. Two had wide sleeves that hid their hands, while a third had a handbag next to her on her seat. Were they servants who either wouldn't or couldn't live with their masters in the Upper Ring? Or did they have other ways of getting access, for some arcane reason?

It didn't matter to Azula. What mattered was that two of those Lower Ring workers made the mistake of carrying their documentation in their sleeves.

At the last stop before the train was to enter the Upper Ring, Azula took advantages of the mass debarking to finally get herself a seat. She walked past one of the Lower Ring'ers on the way, and just as the woman came into grabbing distance, Azula very purposefully and gracefully tripped over her own feet and went down.

She let herself hit the floor hard, her bag bouncing against her back, but it was no inconvenience. Even as Suki, she could take a beating, and the prize would be worth any bruises. The worker woman immediately leaned over her with concern evident on her older face. "Are you okay, dear?" There was no hesitation as she put her hands on Azula in order to help her up.

Azula let herself be lifted up into a sitting position, and smiled. "I'm okay, thanks." She shook her head and gave a little laugh. "Being clumsy isn't anything new for me. Thank you again for your help." The worker woman pulled Azula up to her feet, patted her hand, and then settled back into her seat.

Without her papers.

Azula sat down further down the car in the open seat, and made sure she didn't flash any sign of the employment papers she had snuck out of the other woman's sleeve and into her own. That had been simple enough. Unsuspecting victims were the best kind.

The sheer _oddity_ of that thought threatened to drop Azula's jaw. Since when did she think like that? In fact, she had just stolen difficult to obtain permission from an innocent woman that would likely make her lose her job. It struck her that this was completely inconsistent with her character since she awakened on Kyoshi Island. The guilt she had carried since then... what she had done to her father's face, the lives lost in her escape... lying to... to Captain Toru of the _Hidden Gem_. Her mind began dancing with that last thought, like it was significant in some way, but she pushed past it.

All of those things had made her feel guilty, but not the crime she had just committed. Was she reverting back to the _true _Azula?

She almost expected to feel that old nausea that always filled her when trying to access her forbidden memories, but it did not come. Instead, she just remembered that _her feelings of unease were not important, she had a mission, she had to focus on that._Calming herself, Azula made sure she didn't react as the woman made a little scene when she couldn't find her papers for the conductor and had to be escorted off the train, nor when she showed those very same papers to the very same conductor and pretended that they were her own.

And so she entered the Upper Ring, home of the Jasmine Dragon, the Earth King, and all the answers she needed to figure out her life.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	15. Too Clever By Half

**Too Clever by Half**

The first time Azula had infiltrated the Earth King's palace, she had the benefit of a very good disguise and distracted enemies. (That is, if the stories she had been told were true. Nothing was certain.) This time, she was going to have to do it the hard way.

Azula spent that first afternoon in Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring just getting the lay of the land, walking the lanes with a facade of busy purpose. It really was a beautiful place, a mix of civilization and nature that was only marred by how artificial it all looked. It was the most uncluttered, open settlement that Azula had seen since she left Kyoshi Island, but unlike her old home, the Upper Ring was clean and paved. It was a little haven against anything more unpleasant than a snotty guest at your dinner party. The homes ranged from small estates with mansions at the center to single-level houses with beautiful gardens and wide rooms. The shops were airy and relaxed, with more servants than patrons, and the restaurants were palatial experiences, boasting expertly-prepared foods from all over the Earth Kingdom.

Azula found it all too seductive.

She had been here before, and could even remember it. When she had been Suki, a lie that walked like a woman, she was invited along with Sokka and his friends to visit Zuko's Uncle Iroh in his teashop. It was one of those restaurant palaces, and Iroh had cleared the whole place when his nephew and company visited. Suki found the ambiance relaxing and delightfully fancy, and she had cherished the chance to enjoy some quiet camaraderie with her best friends. Of course, those visits had tapered off as time went on, and the memories were now faded and lifeless, like an old painting worn away by dust and too much sunlight. Azula could almost believe that those experiences had happened to someone else.

In a way, they had.

She made sure to avoid Iroh's 'Jasmine Dragon.'

The main point of her wandering, though, was to provide Azula with the opportunity to check out the Earth King's palace. In keeping with the themes of Ba Sing Se, it was both protected and hidden by massive walls, too tall to climb and too thick to break through. Azula walked the whole perimeter of the fortress-like structure, but spread the casing out across several visits to avoid drawing attention to herself, and found that there was just a single visible entrance.

The front gate boasted a trio of open arches through which both foot-traffic and even drawn carriages could pass, and they were constantly guarded by armored sentries. The men (they were _all _men) had no weapons, but their bare feet betrayed their Earthbending ability. Azula suspected that there were additional, secret accesses to the palace grounds, but there was no time to look for them. The longer she stayed in the city, the greater her chances of being caught. For all she knew, someone like June the bounty hunter was already hot on her trail and closing in. (Why did that thought make her stomach hurt?) Azula would have to keep moving, once this task was done.

Despite the danger, Azula had to interrogate the Earth King. She couldn't live without knowing what had been done to her. And if that led to being found and cornered then so be it, but she had no intention of allowing herself to be captured and made to forget again.

No matter what it took.

Azula was almost shaking when she boarded the train again, but she forced herself to stop thinking like that and instead shifted her thoughts to the intelligence she had gathered and the infiltration plan she would have to create. _Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that._

By the time she disembarked in the Lower Ring, Azula had the basic workings of a plan. She just had to buy some supplies, and the rest would be up to her own abilities. The infiltration would happen tomorrow night, while the city slept.

Then she could finally be at peace.

* * *

It's a good thing Azula had all those coins in her bag, wherever they came from. (_Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that._) The supplies she needed didn't come cheap, especially since they were mainly sold by the barrel; the Lower Ring was where all of Ba Sing Se's manufacturing was done, and so a good number of interesting materials were freely available for purchase with no suspicions involved. She had to go deep into her funds to pay for everything, and so to save a little coin she chose to spend her first night in Ba Sing Se at a random flophouse.

It was the same thing she had done when she arrived in the city of Yang. Something about that rubbed her instincts the wrong way.

She was _sure _she had slept on a wooden floor in a cramped city, surrounded by other patrons and drowning in the smell of body odor. That had to be in Yang. It was the only heavily populated settlement she knew she had visited before setting out for Ba Sing Se, and she remembered everything before that.

Yet...

Yet, she didn't actually have memories of her time in Yang. She _tried _to, but her mind just completely ignored her. There was no feeling of sickness, no curious blank spots like with her time before Suki, just... nothing. She had certain facts in her head, but no basis for them, just crumbs of impressions from her long journey to Ba Sing Se.

Was this a side-effect of what had been done to her to turn her into Suki? Or... or was this something else? It occurred to Azula, as she laid on a futon as thick as a sheet of paper and pretended to be trying to sleep, that perhaps the stories of how the dreaded Princess Azula had gone completely insane at the end of the war might have a grain of truth to them. Perhaps that _wasn't _just a lie?

Perhaps she was insane right now, and didn't realize it.

Azula nearly had a panic attack right there in her room at the thought, but then she realized that _her feelings of unease were not important, she had a mission, she had to focus on that. _It might be nothing more than the effects of a head injury. She could see a healer when she got out of Ba Sing Se.

Something about that thought seemed familiar, but the feeling slipped from her mind as she fell asleep.

She woke up with the dawn the next day, and by sunset she had completed her preparations for the mission. Azula set out into the crowded streets with her special supplies, a knife hidden in her boot just in case, and took the train back to the Upper Ring. The sun had gone down by the time she arrived, but the walkways were still populated with people going about their business. Azula decided to find a place to hide out until the night had grown old; fortunately, she knew of a shelter right in the neighborhood of the palace that she could count on to be deserted; Toph had always been quite clear that the Bei Fong vacation estate was the biggest waste of space in the Upper Ring.

An hour or so after midnight, she finally ventured out. By then, all foot traffic in the Upper Ring had faded away, and the night was left darkened and silent while the people slept. Aside from the usual need to not be seen breaking and entering a palace, it would have been quite awkward carrying around some of her 'tools of the trade.'

And so it was time to infiltrate the most secure place on the entire planet.

Again.

* * *

Guardsman Quong had always been told that Midnight Door Duty was the most important assignment a Guardsman could be awarded, since it meant acting as the first line of defense against whatever dark forces would seek to use the obscuring night as a weapon against the Earth King. However, Guardsman Quong had been getting random Midnight Door Duty assignments for a couple of years now- ever since the Dai Li had given up the responsibility by way of becoming an illegal organization and disappearing from the city- and the bloom was definitely off the rose, so to speak. In fact, the rose was long wilted, dead, decomposed, and forgotten. The whole bothersome business was really nothing more than standing around in front of the open arches at the main gate for hours and hours, in the dark, while the quiet and generally peaceful Upper Ring slept around him.

The only thing that broke the monotony was the arrival of the regular delivery carts, which were still working even this late at night, but if a squeaky wagon was the most exciting thing in Quong's life then it was definitely time for a change in perspective. Not that Quong would ever complain of such a thing out loud, never mind within the hearing of his superiors. He was a Guardsman from a long line of Guardsmen, and even if the Dai Li weren't around anymore, it was still a blood-born habit not to draw too much negative attention to himself.

There were rumors that, one time, a Guardsman on Midnight Door Duty had been forced to turn away a wandering drunk. Quong wasn't quite sure if he believed such an unlikely story, but that kind of thing wouldn't be a bad way to break the monotony, and it was easy enough to exaggerate into something that would impress the servant girl with the soft brown eyes. But no, nothing untoward ever happened at this time of the night, and for all his boredom, Quong was still a good Guardsman. Thus he stood straight and tall in his rather silly bell-shaped armor, kept his eyes turned out towards the darkness in search of incoming threats, and did his Midnight Door Duty.

At first, he wasn't really sure the glows he was seeing were real.

They materialized out of the distant night, somewhere in the open space between the palace walls and the first row of residential estates: strange moving shapes that were almost like the semi-images that danced in your vision after staring at a candle for too long. Quong blinked and rubbed his eyes, but the little glows disappeared behind his eyelids, and then reappeared when he looked again. In fact, the phenomenon almost seemed to be getting closer, more distinct. Yes, it was definitely approaching. Quong stepped forward and squinted, but couldn't quite make it out yet.

Should he call for help?

Pishaw! Best to ascertain the full scale of the threat, first. It could just be a drunk who lit himself on fire with an errantly placed candle, or something perfectly normal and extremely common like that, and then all the rumors would be about how Guardsman Quong had needed backup to deal with a dying sot.

The shapes got closer, and Quong realized they were _much_ closer than he realized. They were _small_, was what tricked him. Three little bobbing balls of glow, racing towards him, and-

Quong made out the details of the glowing balls, and gasped in pure fright.

Spirits!

Maleficent specters of inhuman nature!

Their monstrous faces stared with piercing eyes made of pure moonlight, and their features were twisted into fanged snarls as they dashed towards him! They whined for his blood as they bobbed along the ground without actually touching it, and Quong struggled for the will to unleash his own wail of terror, never mind a cry for assistance!

This looked to be the end for Guardsman Quong!

Then the Spirit Monsters danced around Quong's legs, and the fabric of the night itself reached out to cover him while his armor clanged in response like a Spirit Bell and he could only struggle for breath against his constricted neck before he sank to the ground.

Quong's last thought, as reality went away, was that Midnight Door Duty was not so boring after all, but that was not at all a good thing.

* * *

Azula waited to make sure that the soldier was unconscious before she untangled her arm from around his neck to let the blood flow through his veins again, then removed her black cloth mask. It had been awkward, getting his neck-guard off while he flailed about in a panic, but well within her estimated range of difficulty.

Good thing she had lined up such an effective distraction.

Azula reached down and petted one of the glowing little pygmy pumas who were rubbing against the sleeping guard's armor. It had been expensive, buying a barrel of the glowing phosphorescent extract; it was made from minerals found in the southern end of the Earth Kingdom, and was only imported to Ba Sing Se for use as a novelty and component in paint for signs and markings that were meant to be visible at night. It absorbed sunlight during the day, and glowed a soft, eerie green color at night. Finding someone who sold it was almost as hard as catching the three pygmy pumas, carrying their cages into the Upper Ring, and rolling them in the stuff so that they would glow like Spirits as Azula herded them towards the palace's main gate.

Still, the results had been spectacular. The armored sentry thought he was being attacked by ghosts, and hadn't noticed Azula running right up to him in her dark clothing. She never would have been able to approach him otherwise, never mind get close enough to rip some of his armor off and get him in a choke hold.

The only thing that had ruined the sense of victory was that it had been Sokka's plan in the first place.

During one his visits to Kyoshi Island, back when Azula thought her name was Suki and delighted in his stories about the war, he had said, "So I told Aang that we could dress Momo up like a ghost so he would fly around the palace guards creating a distraction, while we would blast a hole in the wall, but before I could tell him my brilliant idea for making a bomb out of a basket of apples, Aang _very rudely _interrupted me and just said we should dress up like busboys. I guess that worked, but I still think that Momo-ghost plan has possibilities."

Azula took a deep breath, and pushed all thoughts of Sokka out of her mind. _Her feelings of unease were not important. She had a mission. She had to focus on that. _And this was merely the first step in her infiltration plan.

Time for step two.

Azula dragged the guard into the shadows of one of the entrance arches, leaving the glowing pygmy pumas to play. Hidden in the darkness, she began stripping the man of his armor and clothes as quietly as possible. Fortunately, the guard turned out to be a man of fairly average size. The armor was too big for her, as expected, but the extra clothes and padding she brought with her in her bag would make up for the difference. That still left plenty of room to fit extra supplies and weapons, but she would have to leave her sack here with the guard's body.

Azula dressed quickly, and held back a sigh as she was forced to abandon her boots. She'd never pass for an Earthbender while wearing them.

As for passing for a man...

She had bought the glue from the same place as the phosphorescent mixture, and it held the fake beard in place over her lips and chin as solidly as advertised.

Once again not thinking of Sokka and everything that he had taught her, Azula passed through the arch looking for all the world just like a member of the Palace Guard, and walked as quickly across the wide open palace grounds as she could without appearing to be in a hurry. She didn't know how soon the subdued guard would be found, and had to get the most out of this disguise while it was still viable.

Less than perfect was less than acceptable, and for this mission, the only acceptable outcome was not getting caught.

* * *

People tended to think of palaces as buildings, but the truth was that they were really more like miniature cities. Even in Ba Sing Se, a city that divided itself into three sub-cities, the Earth King's palace still boasted a significant population and its own economy.

It was also a city that didn't sleep, unlike the rest of the Upper Ring.

Azula's disguise got her across the main courtyard with only minor discomfort for her unshod and uncalloused feet. She passed several soldiers on patrol in armor identical to her stolen set, but kept her cool and didn't react to them. If the guard she had subdued at the gate was any indication, they weren't very bright, but they tried to make up for it in terms of discipline. Azula marched along like she had someplace to be, and no one so much as waved a hand in casual greeting at her passage.

You had to appreciate a security force that could be fooled by putting on a helmet and a fake beard. If it was Azula's way to win by exploiting fears, psychological weaknesses, cultural blind spots, and panic, then Ba Sing Se was truly the most vulnerable of all her victims. The palace's _true _defenses were the people and city that surrounded it, a cowed and trained civilization that insulated it from the rest of the world. Or so they thought.

Azula ascended the massive staircase in front of the palace and found a pair of guards standing at attention on either side of the main door. She gave a bored nod of her head to them, but the one on the left still held up a hand and said, "What business?"

Azula swallowed. She had been worried about this. Lying was one of her best skills (why did she know that?) but she could hardly speak with the voice of a woman while wearing a beard, and even brief Firebending would be ridiculously visible in the dark of the night. Oh well, that was why she had spent so much time preparing for this mission.

Azula stopped right in front of the guard who spoke, bowed, and came up with a heavy rag in each hand that stank with the sharp smell of fermented seaweed extract imported from the Eastern Gulf. She shoved one rag over the face of the guard in front of her; he took a reflexive breath- no doubt in preparation for an Earthbending attack- and immediately his eyes rolled back and his body went limp. Azula barely got a glimpse of his reaction, though, before she was twirling over to the second guard. He had gotten his hands up in defense, but she stomped the heel of her bare foot on the guard's exposed toes, making him flinch from the pain, and she was able to take advantage of his distraction to shove through his defenses and push the other rag over his nose and mouth.

His eyes rolled back, and he went down with a brief clang.

Azula waited to see if anyone had heard that, but after a few moments, she detected no sign that her actions had been noticed. Leaving the stinking rags draped lightly over the guards' faces, she stood up and entered the palace.

The hallways inside were dark, but not pitch black. Glowing crystals, the cheap light source of choice in Ba Sing Se, softly illuminated the walkways while still giving a strong impression of nighttime. Even in the low light, she could see that the palace was every bit as impressive as the rest of the Upper Ring. There were thick rugs, regular alcoves boasting priceless works of art, and detailed paneling on every possible surface. Unfortunately, what the palace lacked was a sign that would have directed Azula directly to the Earth King's chambers.

Then, as soon as she applied her mind to the problem, Azula realized that she knew exactly where to go. She had no specific memories, but some instinct was pointing her directly on the path to the residential wing deep in the palace. Perhaps it was some remnant of her first infiltration during the war? That was unexpectedly helpful. It was about time that her memory came up with something useful.

Walking the dark hallways, Azula soon learned that she wasn't alone. Other guards patrolled the hallways, and even in the dead of night servants moved about with professional briskness. Azula passed the kitchen area, which was already bustling with a small staff, and later on she encountered a pair of servants freshening up the paint on one spot of the wall. It was a good thing she had planned on a disguise. Sneaking through this building-shaped city would have been impossible.

She _almost _made it without getting caught.

Azula encountered another guard as she passed into what she had the distinct impression was the most secure area in the residential wing. The armored man stood at attention in front of an open doorway at the end of the hall, and his eyes narrowed as Azula approached. When she was still several steps away, he tensed his body, brought up his hands in a defensive posture, and spoke in a clear voice that shattered the stillness of the night. "Halt. Access by order only. Why are you here?"

Azula frowned beneath her fake beard. She was too far away to shove another chemical-rag over his face, and this guy looked like he really would attack if she tried anything aggressive.

Good thing she had more than one trick up her sleeve.

Literally.

Azula stopped, nodded as if in agreement, and then flicked her hand in the direction of the guard's face. In the light of the dim green crystal lamps, the powder was almost invisible. It was all too easy to smell, though. The acrid scent burned Azula's nose in the same way it was probably burning the guard's eyes, but even as he sucked in enough air for what was sure to be a truly impressive screech, Azula dashed forward and clamped her right palm over the man's mouth.

She could feel his tears spilling down over her hand- tears that made her skin itch- but she ignored the sensation and, with her grip secure, she stuck out her right foot and positioned it against the guard's own leg, then yanked him by the head so that he stumbled over her and lost his balance. Azula quickly moved her left arm under the guard so that he wouldn't go crashing into the floor with armor-rattling force, and spun him so that he would land on his back. As soon as he was down, she tore at the armor around the guard's neck- her other hand still clamped over his mouth- and then leaned her whole forearm down on his neck.

The tears never stopped streaming from the man's eyes as he faded into unconsciousness. Azula had forgotten what the mixture had been called or what crushed seeds it was made from, but the man who sold it to her had been clear in his warning that it wouldn't cause permanent blindness. It would just hurt like a red-hot needle through the eyeball until washed out. Well worth the coins, in Azula's opinion.

She pulled the guard's unconscious body through the doorway, and found herself in some kind of receiving room. There were no crystal lamps here, but enough of the light filtered in from the hallway to let Azula see. She dropped the guard behind a couch of some kind, and then removed her own armor and all her outer layer of clothes, leaving her once again in a simple black tunic. She still had some weaponized compounds up her sleeves, but on an urge also moved her small knife so that it would be tucked into the front of her belt, easily accessible. She decided to forgo the mask, and passed through the room deeper into the set of chambers.

A few empty hallways later, she found- strangely, perfectly- a fancy door exactly where she had a hunch the Earth King's bedroom should be.

She took a deep breath, and walked in.

She would wait no longer for the answers she needed.

* * *

He was so small in comparison to his bed that he almost disappeared into it.

Of course, the Earth King was a grown man, taller than Azula, so it was the size of his bed that was really the most impressive part of the view. Azula had to crawl across it to reach her target, and did so without even rustling the sheets. The only light in the room came from the weak moonlight that seeped in through the tall windows on the far side of the room, and so even the small bloom of blue fire that she summoned in her right hand was enough to shade the entire massive bedroom in dancing azure patterns.

He didn't stir at all, his face slack in peaceful slumber, so Azula crouched over him and used her free hand to shake him roughly. He was slow to rouse, and even after he opened his eyes and gazed up at the dangerous source of light flicking in her palm, he took several moments to realize exactly what he was seeing. "You-"

The Earth King got no more than the one word out before Azula pushed her left forearm down on top of his throat, and his speech immediately cut off with a sound like a burp. Azula didn't put her full weight down on him- she didn't wish kill him, or even knock him out like she had his guards- but it was enough pressure to still his voice and leave him with only just enough air to stay conscious.

Azula looked into his eyes and saw the light of her flame glistening in the moist surface. Taking a breath, she offered a small, polite smile and whispered, "I know. You're frightened. You're being assaulted in your home by the most wanted Firebender in the world, and feeling threatened. You think I intend you violence. This is a logical conclusion. I don't blame you for assuming it." She eased up on the pressure, just enough so that it would no longer hurt the Earth King to breathe, and continued, "I apologize for all this, but I wanted a chance to have a little talk with you, and couldn't think of a better way to do that. I accept responsibility for that failure on my part."

Azula waited then, to see how he would react. Predictably, he didn't immediately relax and accept her at her word. He might not have been the smartest man to be graced with the title of the Earth King, and despite his recent corrective efforts he was still a very naive person, but he wasn't a complete dolt. People who attacked you in your bed weren't allies. Yet, as time passed and Azula didn't light his face on fire, he began to relax just a little bit. He tried to speak, and Azula obligingly eased her grip on his throat just a bit. "What," he croaked, "- what do you want?"

Perfect. She had successfully drawn him into the conversation of his own free will. "Thank you for asking. I just want to ask you a few questions, and then I'll leave you unharmed."

The Earth King frowned beneath her. "Questions?"

"Yes." Azula kept her polite smile on her face, despite the redundant question. "You know who I am. But the problem is that _I _don't. You know what was done to me, but I haven't a clue. You know the girl who took your kingdom from you, but she's just stories to me. I have patchwork memories of two different women in my head, I've been driven from my home and chased across the world, and I haven't the foggiest clue why. I need your help. Am I really Princess Azula? And why was I made into 'Suki?' Please, I need someone... trustworthy... to explain it to me." She didn't reveal why she had picked the Earth King as her best possible source, but that was only because she wasn't sure, herself, but it didn't matter. She was here with the prize in her hands; this was no time to worry about unimportant details.

He stared up at her, his gaze obviously skeptical. "You broke into my palace and attacked me in my bed just to ask me some questions?"

"Please, Your Majesty, stay with me here. And consider my position. I used to be Suki, living a happy life. Then I, too, was attacked in my home. A man who claimed to be my father nearly killed me, and the result is that I suddenly had some of Princess Azula's memories in my head. I had no idea who I really was, but when I tried to find out, my 'friends' attacked me and tried to drug me. Now there are rumors all around that I'm leading attacks on the colonies, rumors that would have me appearing in five different place at once. From where I'm standing, _I'm _the victim here. I need to know who my enemies are." Azula swallowed, and let the false smile fall off her face. "Is- is this all a plan by the Avatar and the Fire Lord? Are they trying to ruin me?"

The Earth King needed a moment to get control of his dumbfounded stare. "No! They were trying to help you! You were sick, and Sokka was trying to find a way to save your life. They figured out how to give you a new life where you could be happy."

"_Figured out?_What does that even mean? How could I possibly be given a new life with the old one just wiped out, like it had never happened to me?" Azula felt herself frown. Something about that question bothered her. Something felt just out of a reach, like she had the clues to figure out the answer but lacked the intelligence. Of course, that was ridiculous! She had been pondering these questions for weeks, and barely had a clue to go on. Why would it be different this time?

The Earth King must have noticed her distraction, because the next thing he said was, "Are you okay?"

"Naturally. Please, answer the question."

"It's just that- you're sweating. Your face is getting paler as I watch."

Azula blinked in surprise. Now that he mentioned it, she realized that her face was covered in a sheet of sweat that covered every curve and dip. Why would that be? She was channeling her heat into the flame in her hand, not absorbing heat. A quick check confirmed that the fire was still the same size and temperature as it had started. "I'm fine. Just tell me. How did they turn Azula into Suki? How do I fix myself?"

His look was wary now, and the Earth King spoke his reply slowly. "Sokka discovered that the same sciences used by Ba Sing Se's old cultural guard to brainwash their enemies could also be used to give people healthy new memories. I think that's a good summary, it's very complex. Anyway, he worked with a professor named Dong Min to put you through a modified version of the Dai Li's old... are you listening? What's wrong with your eyes? The pupils just got very large."

As a matter of fact, Azula wasn't listening. She was too distracted by a song, the most wondrous tune in all of creation. It had only a few lyrics, but they each had a world of meaning.

Dai Li.

Dong Min.

_-Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min Dai Li Dong Min-_

Suddenly, a blanket of peace fell across Azula's mind, and a healthy feeling flooded her body. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to say, "Earth King Kuei. Long Feng sends his greetings. You should have known that no one in the world is beyond his reach." Her voice sounded flat and emotionless in her ears, and the Earth King's eyes were wide with terror, but that was all so detached from her. Her body began moving of its own accord, but that was fine, too, because it seemed to be doing so well on its own, and Azula relished the opportunity to just relax.

She didn't understand why she let go of the Earth King's throat with one hand, and slapped an exploding ball of fire onto his chest with her other hand, but even understanding seemed like more effort than it was worth right now. She could just ride the flow of the song all the way to nirvana.

Then the smell of burnt flesh assault her nose and her mind shattered into ten thousand ragged pieces.

Azula suddenly realized what she was seeing. She was crouched over a dying man _who she had just fatally wounded with her Firebending_. He was gasping for a breath that wouldn't come, since he no longer had the healthy lungs required to summon it.

This was her fault. Dai Li. Long Feng. Somehow, those old ghosts of the war had gotten to her. She had made a mistake in coming here, but admitting that was still glossing over her failure. Every single one of her choices- going all the way back to Kyoshi Island when she learned that there was no such thing as a Suki- were a cascading series of mistakes that culminated in a man's death.

"I'm sorry," she gasped.

"Kch… kchh… Bsc… o…" The Earth King's gaze seemed to focus on her face for a moment, but then again, perhaps not, since it flickered to the side for a moment. Then he stopped struggling to hang on to life, and went mournfully still.

The Earth Kingdom had just lost its King and Ruler.

Azula bowed her head, still crouching over the corpse, tortured once again by the smell of a burn wound she had inflicted on a human being.

Then she noticed the glint of moonlight at the corner of her vision.

She turned her head and found her own hand holding a knife in the air. It was the knife she had brought to Ba Sing Se, the knife she had brought on this mission, the knife she had tucked into her belt before coming into the Earth King's bedroom.

_The knife she couldn't remember even acquiring._

Now her right hand was raising that knife of its own accord, and positioning the blade right in front of her own throat. She tried to will it away, but her arm wouldn't obey. It just scraped the knife's edge against her skin, and steadily increased the pressure.

The metal was cool, nothing like the burning of her own mistakes within her heart.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	16. The Last Retreat

**The Last Retreat**

The thin but thoroughly inflexible edge of the knife dug into the skin of Azula's throat. Time had slowed around her, so that she could feel a line of her own weak flesh compress beneath the cutting edge and prepare to tear in a wash of scarlet. And that was before the knife would get to any of the major blood conveyances.

Or perhaps time really was moving properly. Maybe the reason she wasn't yet dead was that it was _her own hand_ wielding the knife, and the sum total of all her willpower was slowing her own unwilling suicide so that she could dread every moment. Whatever had been done to her- by the _Dai Li and Long Feng_, however in the name of the Unagi that had happened- had turned her own body against her. That thought might have been worrying, might have made her feel violated, if Azula wasn't more concerned at the moment with the knife literally at her throat.

The pressure increased, and Azula felt a sting as the blade began to slice the skin.

Azula poured her full effort into fighting for control of her own right arm. If she failed, not only would she die, but she would forever be remembered as a cowardly assassin, someone who struck out at the world for the sake of pure spite and then killed herself to avoid the consequences. She would go down in history as a pale shadow of a former self she couldn't even remember, a monster without a case, and a failure who struck senselessly out at the weakest of her enemies because anything else was too hard. And that wasn't even getting into general unpleasantness of dying by the blade of a knife.

Azula shut her eyes and ground her teeth together, but all the knife did was shift and angle so that it could start carving a gap from one side of her throat to the other.

She screamed a wordless roar of defiance that would only be silenced by death or victory.

The knife stilled.

Azula was so focused on willing her arm to stop that she didn't even realize when it listened. The sensation that clued her in was the feel of another hand grasping her own, lending its strength to her efforts. The warmth of a smooth and steady hand wrapped around her own cool fingers, giving them a degree of life that this alien presence in her body had sapped away. She snapped her eyes open and looked to see who had come to her rescue, but she saw no one. All that was in her vision was the Earth King's moonlit bedroom around her: she was lying on his bed, beside his cooling, smoldering, stinking corpse, and the only sign of life was the glint of the blade poised against her own skin-

-a glint of shining light that pierced the darkness…

...why did that seem familiar?

Even more warmth flooded Azula. It was no longer limited to her unresponsive fingers, it was warmth like a body wrapped around her whole being in a loving embrace, and Azula's arm slowly and shakily began to pull the knife away from her own throat. It took all of her will to accomplish, a mental effort akin to suddenly willing herself to become an Earthbender, but she still sensed that it was not by her effort alone that she was saved, that something... separate... was lending her strength.

An invisible hand.

She would need it.

Even as she fully extended her right arm away from her body, it still shook with exertion, and her hand would not let go of the knife. No matter how hard she pushed, even with this extra burst of strength and will, she could do no better than that. It seemed that she would have to make her escape in this state.

Perhaps she should have just killed herself after all.

* * *

It was a cascading effect, both in the discovery and the spread of panic. It started when the Grounds Patrol made their swing over to the palace's outer entrance. The arches in the main wall were supposed to be covered by Guardsman Quong for another hour, but he was nowhere to be found when a pair of his fellow soldiers arrived precisely on time at the third hour past midnight. The only thing they saw were a trio of glowing pygmy pumas playing in the street.

_Glowing pygmy pumas?!_

This locked their attention in an unbreakable choke hold, and when one of the guards ran out to investigate, he literally stumbled upon the truth of the matter when he tripped over Quong's body in the shadows between the arches. The unconscious guardsman was stripped to his undergarments, and when dragged out in to the light of the street lanterns, some bruising on his neck right over his major arteries became apparent.

This was rather alarming, to say the least.

The two soldiers immediately sounded their standard-issue patrol whistles. They were just little metal tubes with slits in them, but that slit was carefully designed to make a whole lot of noise.

The security at the palace may not have been air-tight, but it was very well-planned. Upon hearing the whistling- done in a pattern that conveyed the highest level breach to anyone who could hear it, which was practically the whole central courtyard- all the various guards on the grounds immediately echoed the call on their own whistles and moved to pre-assigned spots that absolutely had to be secured in the event of an emergency. Thus, only thirty seconds after Quong's body was found, a group of soldiers arrived at the top of the steps leading into the palace and discovered another pair of unconscious guards lying in front of the door to the building proper. There were no marks on these two, but their faces were covered with rags that smelled of chemicals and drove the air from the lungs.

Once was a problem. Twice was enemy action.

Guards poured into the palace, screeching their whistles again. The few servants that were up and about scrambled out of the way with wide eyes, while the various soldiers patrolling the halls raised the call on their own whistles and began scouring the building for one or more intruders.

The first concern of the palace security was, of course, guaranteeing the Earth King's safety. A squad of no less than five of the most elite guards, with an additional four following them carrying a small palanquin that would bear the Earth King's weight while still allowing them to make a fast retreat, arrived at the secure residential chambers expecting to find the soldier assigned to that post at attention with the monarch ready to go.

Instead, they found yet another unconscious body, and every single one of those crack soldiers felt the dread an anguish of a mission that might very well have already failed. The unconscious guard's neckguard had been ripped off, just like Quong at the front gate. Again, there was bruising on this one's throat, and he bore further evidence of a chemical attack: his eyes leaked mucus and dusky tears that smelled like one of those awful new Fire Flakes stands that were popping up in the Lower Ring.

Panic set in, and no one was concerned any longer with whistles. All nine soldiers immediately dashed for the doorway, leaving the palanquin behind, and being Earthbenders they enlarged it as necessary to avoid a traffic jam, in effect nearly destroying the entire wall. They did the same to all the other walls they found in their way, and managed to cross the entire Royal Residential Complex in no more than three seconds. And so the last obstacle between nine alert and agitated elite Earthbender soldiers and the person who dared infiltrate their King's bedroom was a single wooden door.

Despite that, they were not the first to arrive.

Bosco beat them by a hair.

* * *

It was one small step, but it felt like a journey into the horizon for Azula. Her focus had to remain on keeping her traitorous hand from slitting her own throat, and that left only a portion of her mind to handle things like putting one foot in front of the other and keeping her balance during the whole unnecessarily complex process. Crawling her way off the bed was easier, in terms of coordination and physical effort, but it had taken her a while to figure out how to split her attention like that, and so it seemed to her like it had taken hours just to get this far.

And yet it was almost like someone was helping her, propping her up whenever she momentarily faltered.

Azula was several steps away from the room's exit, still, when she heard the commotion. The unmistakable sounds of crashing and Earthbending sounded through the door and rattled it on its hinge. Azula froze in place and nearly lost control of her Traitor Arm again. This was exactly what she had been hoping to avoid. The time for stealth was apparently over, but it she was in no shape to fight her way through the whole palace's security force. She would need a plan for getting out of the building while avoiding a confrontation. A plan. Plan.

She had more chemical weapons in her sleeves, her Kyoshi war fans tucked into the back of her belt, and a knife in the hand that wouldn't obey her.

A plan.

What kind of a plan could she put together with those materials?

Azula tried to think, but it was _extremely_ hard to do that while fighting off the suicidal Dai Li programming and keeping herself on her feet.

She needed...

...a plan...

Then the door exploded in her face and it was all she could do to grab the Traitor Arm before it could stab her again. It snapped up through the haze of her surprise as though to complete its mission, but Azula managed to raise her other hand in time and catch the fist that held the knife. She didn't manage to stay upright, though, and so her first view of her assailant was from the floor while he towered over her.

It was a bear.

Distantly, through her shock, she heard the sound of Earthbending, and a snatch of a voice saying, "-the bear deal with the assassin, the thing is _crazed_-" Then stone bumped against stone, and Azula was locked with a bear in a room that no longer had a door. With a _bear._ Not a platypus-bear, not a skunk-bear, not an armadillo-bear, or even a gopher-bear. It was just a bear, it looked like it weighed several hundred pounds, and it roared with bone-rattling force as it stood on its hind legs. Then it looked down at Azula, and growled.

Oh no.

Azula was having trouble putting her feelings into words, even in her own head, but the primal fear she was feeling ran through her body with its own chilling eloquence. The fear wasn't at all diminished by the silly outfit the animal was wearing, the yellow shirt and giant green hat that was tied atop its head, or by its name. Bosco. The Earth King's pet and companion. Azula had not personally seen this animal before, but she had heard stories of it, of how it was as docile and pampered as a housecat and knew none of the feral instincts of its kind. Apparently, that only went so far. It was a good lesson, that even the friendliest animal could be pushed to a natural violence. The death of its owner was enough for this bear.

Seeing Azula intimidated before it, Bosco fell back to a four-legged stance and gave her one last glare, then bound over to the bed. The bed where the Earth King's body was still lying.

Bosco didn't even need to get close; seeing the corpse was enough. It gave a long groan with resonance so deep that Azula could feel the vibrations in her teeth, then the bear turned back to face her. Gone was the snarling; now the expression the animal gave her was drooping. Azula's fear abated against that face, and she found within it a reflection of her own guilt. She had been so righteous, so driven to find out what had been done to her memory that she had blundered into a trap that had killed the Earth King. He had done nothing to her, nothing except helping in his own way to save an insane and dying criminal. He had said so, and she believed him; the man couldn't lie to save his life.

Yet she had still killed him. It didn't matter that it had been the work of Long Feng, because even if she couldn't remember exactly how she had come to be in the former Dai Li's power, she had still somehow failed and let herself become his pawn. That she hadn't desired it didn't make the Earth King's death any less her responsibility. Her choices had been less than perfect, and less than perfect was less than acceptable. Plus, she was just plain tired of killing people without meaning to.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the bear.

Bosco grunted at the sound of her voice, and then began growling at an almost subsonic level that made its earlier groan sound like a child's laughter. The bear's furry, dark-eyed face tightened again into a predator's humorless grin, and it rose again on two legs and began stomping towards her. Bosco, it seemed, was not interested in apologies.

At least Azula had been given enough time to get over her terror. She rose to her feet- shakily, for she still had to concentrate to keep the Traitor Arm in place- and did her best to take a defensive stance. A stiff breeze might have been enough to knock her over, and she was stuck with only the use of her off hand, but she wasn't a warrior dependent on a weapon, or an Earthbender who needed a solid stance. She had a free hand a clear sight.

That was enough for Fire.

As Bosco took another few stomps towards her, Azula punched a fist at the ground between them and summoned a fireball that splattered blue flame across the thick carpet. It immediately caught into a good blaze, and it was the mere exertion of will that kept the fire from spreading dangerously, an exertion that was a lot easier than will herself to stay on her feet. That flame should keep the animal back.

Bosco took one look at the blue blaze, growled with unmistakable derision, then used its hind legs to push itself into a leap that took it right over the fire. Bosco landed on its front legs first right beside Azula, and then as soon as its hind legs were down it raised one of the front paws again and reached out to swipe at Azula.

It was so fast, she barely would have had time to consider dodging if she were healthy and in full control of her body. She didn't have enough time to imagine the damage that the bear's claws would do to her fragile flesh before the paw struck her and sent her flying across the bedroom.

The shear _power_ in that blow was enough to drive Azula out of her mind for a brief moment, and when her focus returned she opened her eyes to find the Traitor Arm positioning the knife over her throat again. Azula once again grabbed at it with her left hand, and the primal desperation that came from being attacked by a bear actually gave her a little extra strength to settle it back down again. Once that was taken care of, Azula had time to realize that while the whole left side of her chest was sore from the bear's blow, her clothes and skin were unbroken.

What about the bear's claws?

Azula looked up to see Bosco approaching her warily again, the fire on the carpet now orange and beginning to spread, and the sight of the stupid shirt and hat over his brown fur inspired the answer. _They filed his claws._He could only pound on her, not claw her to death. Getting to her feet again, Azula had to admit that being pounded to death was still quite likely. Summoning a flame was a bit beyond her now, but it was a simple thing to grab the fires of the burning carpet and yank them away and into the air. She sent the blue-again flames circling around in a wave that would strike the ground at the bear's front paws, but then Bosco surged forward again and batted at her with enough strength to send her flying into the nearest wall.

The pain of the impact nearly covered the feel of her flames dissipating into the air. Her back struck the wall first, but her momentum was strong enough to snap her head against the wall right after, and stars exploded into her reality. She felt herself losing the thread of consciousness, but a clear shaft of comforting light shone through the supernova in her vision, and a warning whispered directly into her brain that if she let herself go, then the Traitor Arm would end her life. She fought back against the flood of dizziness and darkness, and extended her will back toward the hand that held her enemy's knife. She had trouble finding it from her position outside reality, but the same shaft of light that anchored her to wakefulness guided her up her own Qi-path to the hand, and she threw her willpower against it.

A lifetime later, she opened her eyes to find the knife perched above her, unmoving. She had done it. She had stopped it.

Then she looked past the blade and the hand that aimed it and saw the growling face of a bear looking down on her.

Oh, right. That.

Bosco was growling again with his teeth bared, and Azula was forced to acknowledge that while the bear's claws might be blunted by manicures, his teeth were still those of a wild predator. And Bosco looked like _he_ knew this, too. Still, there was hope. Azula still had her Firebending, and even though she could barely feel her limbs, they weren't needed to summon the azure flame. It would be a simple task to spit a large enough fireball right into Bosco's face. It would land well before the bear could sink his teeth into Azula's head, and there was a good chance it might be a fatal injury.  
But then Azula looked into the bear's dark, hurting eyes- eyes that reflected her own pinched face- and realized that she was tired of killing. If there was any other she could survive, she had to take it before she drove herself crazy. The lack of guilt that had enabled to her to infiltrate the Upper Ring and the palace was gone, and her regret pierced her heart just like the shaft of light that had helped her stay the knife. "I understand," she whispered, just before Bosco lunged.

Bosco stopped and stared at her.

Could the animal really understand her words? Unlikely. Perhaps it was responding to the tone of her voice. Either way, it didn't matter. As long as she drew breath, she had to press on. "I never wanted to kill anyone. I... just... it just keeps happening around me..."

Bosco growled again. Saliva oozed down his teeth and dripped onto Azula's neck. It burned where the knife had started to cut her, before.

"I understand that you need to kill me, and I'm not going to be able to fight this knife off forever. Better dead than a brainwashed doll, anyway. At least no one else will die because of my stupid mistakes."

Bosco pushed its face forward, nudging her with his nose. Did it want her to fight back? To make it more sporting?

Azula lowered her gaze, seeking out the knife she clutched in her Traitor Hand. "I can't even control myself. If you don't kill me now, I'm not going to be able to stop myself from going after the bag of droppings who messed with me, and burning whatever it takes to get revenge. And who knows how many people are going to die because of that?"

Bosco made a rumbling sound, opened his powerful jaw wide, lunged forward-

-Azula shut her eyes against her coming death-

-and the only sensation she felt was the strong tug of the front of her tunic as she was dragged over the carpet.

Azula opened her eyes, and found that Bosco was pulling her across the room by his jaws. She was too confused to even consider fighting back, and Bosco stayed focused until he dropped her in front of the massive windows that let the moonlight stream into the room. From her spot on the floor, Azula looked up at the windows, then over at Bosco, and could only stare with a complete lack of comprehension.

Bosco growled, nudged her with its nose, and then looked up at the windows.

Azula's jaw dropped in shock, and she almost lost her mental grip on the Traitor Arm. "You want me to _leave?_"

Bosco rumbled.

"Why?" Azula resisted the urge to shake her head. She must be crazy; now she was negotiating with a bear.

Bosco growled, and looked back over at the bed where the Earth King's body had been left.

She sucked in a breath as understanding finally dawned on her. "You want revenge. On the one truly responsible."

Bosco rumbled again.

No, that couldn't be it. Sure, the Sky Bison Appa was smart, and seemed to respond to Aang sometimes as if it understood the Airbender, but Sky Bison were special, weren't they?

But then again, wouldn't a bear that wasn't a platypus-bear, or a skunk-bear, or an armadillo-bear, or even a gopher-bear, be something special, too? Azula carefully got to her feet, and was just starting to ponder how she was going to get down to the ground through a window that was three stories up when there came the sound of grinding stone behind her, and heavy voices wafted out from the hallways.

"What's going on in there?"

"It's too dark to see, shine that lantern over here!"

"There! By the window!"

Azula had to do something quick as the guards began pushing into the bedroom, so naturally she decided to light something on fire. A wide wave of her good hand sent an expanding pulse of blue fire out across the room, licking at the carpet below as it flew, and the armored figures rushing towards her all stopped reflexively from the heat and the light. Azula was just starting to go back to pondering the functional points of her needed escape when she felt a familiar tug on the back of her tunic. She barely had enough time to recognize the tug of Bosco's teeth on her clothes when a heavy yank swung her effortlessly up onto the animal's back. She had just managed to grab the stupid yellow shirt with her good hand when Bosco pushed itself up and through the window.

It was a long way down, yet the bear had landed roughly but unharmed on the ground before she could even register the fall. (Azula had to grab the Traitor Arm again when she lost focus in her surprise.) She could hear shrill whistles in the night, but nothing close by. She was in a garden of some kind, the paths barely visible in the watery glow of the moon, observed only by topiaries shaped like large animals. She supposed that was fitting. Throwing one last look of gratitude and promise at Bosco, Azula stumbled off into the night.

A cart. She had to find one of the carts that came into the palace with supplies. If she could hide herself in one, somewhere that the guards wouldn't think to look, they might assume that she had already escaped and she'd be able to take advantage to get off the palace grounds and out into the Upper Ring. In the Upper Ring, dressed like a spy, carrying a knife, barely in control of her body.

What she would do from that point, she had no idea.

* * *

The _Hidden Gem_ was making excellent time.

The cargo junk was riding the cool winds and waves up and around the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom, plying waters that had once belonged to fleets of Water Tribe hunters in ages past. Not the type of people to waste such a good opportunity, Meisai and her father had agreed that they should sail through the night and take advantage of the good conditions and bright moon while they lasted. Meisai had napped during the afternoon while Father had overseen half of the new crew, then she took over after the moon had risen and played captain to the other half of the 'steamers.'

From her station at the steering wheel, Meisai watched by lamp light as Mongke clumsily anchored one of the masting lines with a knot that was just barely adequate. "Hey, a word?"

Mongke looked over with a half-hearted glare, then shrugged and nodded. He gave one last pull at the knot, and then jogged over from the other side of the deck. He didn't quite stand at attention, but his back was straight and his gaze was steady, or at least steadier than the feathers in his topknot that were being battered by the wind. "Mongke, reporting."

Meisai nodded over at the knot he had been working on. "I thought, when I hired you, that you guys were Fire Navy." Meisai crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the locked wheel. "You have sailing skills, sure, but I'm pretty sure now that you saw the Navy as a taxi, if anything. A knot like that would have gotten you thrown overboard during the war."

Mongke snorted at that. "You were Navy?"

"Firebender marine detachment, under the Sea Patrol command. We spent more time groundside than on the water, but I saw enough to pick some things up."

Mongke nodded slowly, and there was no mistaking the evaluating stare he was giving her again. Meisai felt a sting of unease in her gut, and wondered if she had already said too much. Mongke and his crew hadn't seemed like the type to report deserters, if they weren't deserters themselves, but you could never be sure.

Finally, Mongke's lip twitched and he said, "We were special forces. One of the roving independent units."

Meisai managed to resist the urge to shout, "Aha!" So that was why they looked like refugees from a circus. The special independent units were teams of top-tier warriors, usually covering a variety of combat and support skills, that could be sent as a quick-moving force into enemy territory to soften up larger targets, interrupt supply lines, or conquer small settlements that would have been logistically troublesome for the main Fire Army. What Meisai did allow herself, though, was to ask the next question that came to mind: "So how did you end up working a steamer in the colonies? Er, _former_ colonies."

Mongke snorted again, then turned away to look out across the sea, towards the Earth Kingdom coast just barely visible on the nighttime horizon. "The war didn't end in a way we could... appreciate. You find less bounty hunters on the seas than on the land, and it's a lot harder to track a group that can just take a vacation on the other side of the ocean when it wants. But maybe you'd know about that, already."

Meisai didn't react. There was no point in denying it, but neither was there a point in blatantly incriminating herself.

Mongke apparently wasn't waiting for an answer from her. He turned back to look at Meisai and raised a finger. "But don't think that we couldn't handle ourselves! The Rough Rhinos were some of the _best!_" He searched her eyes for a moment, then relaxed again. "We worked hard during the war. Did things that no one else could do, or wanted to do. Did things our Fire Lord now says were wrong. Maybe he never heard, but you don't win a war by holding back. We were ordered to win, so we did. Putting up with sassy bounty hunters sniffing after us for the rest our lives just sounded like more trouble than it was worth."

Meisai found herself nodding. She had actually heard of the Rough Rhinos, and Mongke wasn't exaggerating. They were known for being among the best. They were also known to be utterly ruthless, a unit that didn't have a problem with hitting purely non-military targets. Farms burned and people died by their hands. On the other hand, was Meisai any better? How do you measure which killings were more acceptable when your Lord proclaimed that the whole war was wrong, and everyone who believed in it was at best mistaken? Didn't that mean all the supposed soldiers were really mere murderers? How could you compare individual crimes when everyone involved had their full honor stripped from them? Meisai nodded slowly in the moonlight. "I'm not one for trouble myself."

He nodded at the promise implicit in her statement, but his lip still quirked in a smirk. "Cargo in Ba Sing Se? Picked up by a bunch of Firebenders who don't want to be famous?" He shrugged. "Trouble enough. Even the Dragon of the West met his match there. The only reason I'm going is for the parts I can get for my ship. The longer it sits in dock, the sooner I may find an ash-sniffing shirshu all up in my hearth."

Meisai let him walk away and get back to work. That was another reason why she didn't feel comfortable comparing herself to the Rough Rhinos; she was sailing towards trouble of her own free will, and her actions in Ba Sing Se would probably cause even more trouble for the entire world.

Good thing she already had no honor. You couldn't lose what you didn't have.

* * *

Iroh woke up at dawn and made a pot of tea.

He did that every morning of course, because he was both a Firebender who valued the spiritual side of his gift, and because he really liked tea. It never ceased to amaze Iroh that one of his greatest pleasures- a warm cup of healthy liquid possessed of smooth but striking flavors- had become so intrinsic to his life and identity. He had been born a prince, raised as a warrior, worked as a conqueror, and yet here he was in the capital of his homeland's most enduring enemy, running a tea shop. People now associated him more with tea than anything else. They could scarcely mention his name without also mentioning tea. It was truly humbling, how thoroughly one could change their identity. It was also gratifying, how much happiness one could find by doing so.

Finishing his first cup of tea, Iroh got dressed and prepared for another busy day running his tea shop. It no longer got the heavy crowds it had seen when it first opened, but that was more because the visits were spread out over time than because he had lost any customers. Iroh could have wondered if those crowds would be so welcoming, had they known his true identity as the warlord who had once laid siege to this very city. Oh, the government knew, of course, but the Earth King himself had deemed that Iroh was more than welcome to continue on as 'Mushi,' so that he need not fear harassment. Perhaps no one would really care that he was of Royal Fire Nation blood, but at the same time, there were enough people with gold eyes and warm hands emigrating from the colonies, so what was the hurt in pretending to be one of them?

His daily preparations completed, Iroh poured himself another cup of tea and went to his window to greet the rising sun.

What he saw outside chilled his blood.

The sun was rising as warm and surely as it always did, but it was the city itself that disturbed Iroh. The 'Jasmine Dragon' sat on a hill in the center of the Upper Ring, and from his bedroom on the top floor of the building he had a good view all the way to the Earth King's palace. Today, a massive white flag had been draped over the palace gate to cover the Earth Kingdom sigil built right into the wall over the entrance arches. Iroh had studied Ba Sing Se's culture, both as a citizen of the city and as a General for the Fire Nation, and he knew that this signified.

The Earth King had died.

When Iroh was able to pull his eyes away from that sight, he found the streets of the Upper Ring empty, even for this early time of day when servants and delivery carts should have been starting their rounds. Empty, that is, except for the patrols of soldiers who walked the streets in pairs. Not quite a show of force, but a clear sign that panic and trouble would not be tolerated, no matter the tragedy.

Iroh bowed his head and resolved to light a memorial for Kuei. He wouldn't say that the Earth King was a friend, but they had been moving towards that, and they were at least regular friendly company to one another, time allowing. First, though, Iroh would have to put out a sign closing the Jasmine Dragon for business. He doubted he would have any customers today, but closing the tea shop officially would be a small sign of respect for the city's mourning. He shuffled downstairs, walked into the main dining hall, and found a disheveled woman in black lying curled up on the floor in the center of the room. So unexpected was her appearance that it took him a second to recognize his own niece.

Azula.

Iroh felt the Fire kindle in his heart when he realized what her appearance here meant. He took a deep breath, readied his body for a fight, and growled, "You were the one who killed him, weren't you?"

It was the growl of the Dragon of the West, a sound that had cowed armies once upon a time, but its effect seemed lost on the woman on the floor in front of him. At the sound of his voice, she lethargically raised her head and looked straight at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and had deep bags under them, and her hair auburn hair was tangled and sweaty.

She held a knife in her right hand, and even as she reacted to Iroh's presence, the arm moved to press the knife against Azula's own throat. She caught it with her left hand, her facial expression never changing, and pulled the arm back down with great effort.

Holding herself thusly, Azula gave a pleading stare and said, "Help me."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	17. The War Within

**The War Within**

Azula woke up in the dark.

Almost by reflex, she snapped a hand up and illuminated her surroundings with a small flame. Beneath the blue tint, she found herself in a stockroom of some kind; there were shelves along each wall bearing what looked like various kinds of pots and kettles, while crates of several different sizes were laid in clumps on the floor. The whole place smelled of spices and old herbs, but not of any actual food, oddly enough. Perhaps she was in a hospital of some kind? Azula realized that she had been laying on a futon- a thick and rather comfortable one, she had to admit- in the center of the dark little room. She had no memory of how she got here, but at least whoever was hosting her seemed concerned for her comfort.

And then it came to her. The long, horrible night. The death of the Earth King. Her fight with a bear. Her escape from the palace. The long journey through the Upper Ring, crawling from shadow to shadow, until enough of her hope wore away that she was willing to deliver herself into the hands of her enemies just for the chance to stay alive. The wait through the night, until Unc- Ir- Uncle Iroh had appeared and she could personally beg for his help.

The previous night, she had promised that she would never allow herself to be recaptured alive. So much for her convictions when the going got hard. Azula was disappointed to discover that she was truly the type of person to do whatever it took to stay alive, even if it meant hurting herself. Certainly, it was well established that she had a tendency to risk _other_ people's lives when her own was in danger, but betraying the last of what she believed in just for the chance to draw another breath was a disillusioning choice. No wonder no one liked her.

Azula felt her other arm, the one that wasn't current Firebending, twitch. To her surprise, it pressed futilely against a rough cloth prison. She looked down to find her Traitor Arm- the one that she had been brainwashed to kill herself with by Long Feng or the Dai Li or whoever- tied tightly against her own side and stomach with a thick bolt of cloth. The covering wound all around her body and knotted over her back. Beneath it, her hand still gripped the knife with which she had tried to slice her own throat, but the blade had been sandwiched between a pair of wooden blocks tied together to completely cover it. She would have been safe from the cutting edge no matter how she twisted or turned in her sleep.

Well, at least she had sold her freedom for _competent_ help. That made her feel a little better about it.

Azula stood up and set about exploring her little hideaway, and discovered one more feature of interest: a set of stairs leading up in the far corner. So she was underground. The lack of windows should have been a clue, but then, she just woke up. It also meant that her hideaway was also an effective prison, then. As softly as she could, Azula climbed the stairs, and with her Kyoshi Warrior training, the process was very silent indeed. The only problem proved to be the closed door at the top. Azula lightly prodded at it to see how strong the lock might be, and the thing swung open with a creak like a murderously depressed bear.

Azula found herself blinking out into a kitchen filled with industrial-sized teapots, where Iroh sat waiting for her at a table by candlelight. "Ah, Niece. I would wish you a good morning, but the sun set several minutes ago. You must have been tired." The smell out here was less intense than the stockroom below, but Azula recognized it now. It was the scent of all the tea mixtures that Iroh collected for his Jasmine Dragon shop. He himself always smelled faintly of the ground plants that went into his concoctions, along with the slight tang of spicy Fire Nation food. It was a smell that, Azula realized, she had found familiar and comfortable even when 'Suki' visited this place with Sokka and the others.

It was a link to her past, and now the guardian of her present.

There were two ways Azula could play this: either go along with Iroh and play the polite prisoner, or immediately launch an attack against the Dragon of the West and then try to escape into a city that was actively hostile towards her. Azula may have been dealing with a Traitor Arm that wanted to kill her, but she wasn't _completely_ crazy. She sighed and walked out to sit across from her uncle at the table. "I was up all last night, and was fairly active for most of it. Every time I nodded off, the hand with the knife tried to slit my throat again, so I delayed my rest. Thank you for taking care of that, by the way."

Iroh nodded. "My pleasure. Although I was forced to limit my measures to the temporary. I couldn't even pry the knife from your grip, no matter how deeply you slept. I am, naturally, very curious about why your own hand is trying to kill you."

Azula must have gotten a very good sleep as, despite the whole situation, she found her lip quirking while she said, "Well, everyone else was getting in on it, I guess my own hand didn't want to be left out."

Iroh stared at her.

"Sorry. Honestly, it's a long story, and that's just the parts I know about."

"You killed the Earth King." Iroh's soft words did not at all match the hardness of his gaze.

Azula stood up and pointed with her free hand right in her uncle's face. "_Not on purpose!_ I just wanted to ask him about what had been done to me. _Why someone stuck their hand in my mind and stirred the contents like a bowl of jook!_ I had barely started asking him about it before something... foreign... took over my body and made me kill him, then it took up residence in my arm and spent the rest of the night trying to slice my throat open." Putting down her hand, Azula gave her sweetest possible smile. "You want to know who to really ask? The first thing I did when I lost control was to tell the Earth King that, 'Long Feng sends his greetings. You should have known that no one in the world is beyond his reach.' Maybe _you_ have more answers than I do, at this point? I can't even remember the last time I saw that man. _Literally._"

Azula sat down again, and felt a surge of satisfaction in her gut at the expression on Iroh's face. His eyes were wide with surprise, and his mouth was twisted in a grimace that left him completely without speech. He probably liked to imagine that he had all the answers, had almost certainly counseled Zuko on the matter of turning his troublesome sister into a toy to be raffled off, and it was all too delicious to show him how little he understood the storm that was Azula's life right now.

Then she was struck by a feeling like a spear of ice stabbing into her gut, and Azula drooped backwards in her chair. "I'm sorry for that."

Iroh's eyes focused on her, but lost none of their guarded unease.

Azula sighed. "I need to be careful. When I lost control with the Earth King, it was because he said... the name of Long Feng's old organization. And another name. We need to be careful what I say, and what you say around me. I have no idea what other triggers might be built into me." Azula closed her eyes and massaged her forehead with her free hand. "This is going to be hard."

They were both silent for a while after that, until Iroh got up and started making tea. Soon enough, he brought a steaming pot over to the table with two cups, and poured generously for both himself and Azula. "This is very troubling news," he said after his first sip, "but I accept it as you present it. I held your arm away from you after you passed out, and I felt the disharmony within. That could not be faked. But... were you really trying to interrogate the Earth King about your mind?"

"Yes. That's all I've been doing since I escaped Kyoshi Island. Just dodging Zuko's forces and trying to figure out what's been done to me. I didn't know who I could trust, and the people who made me think I was a Kyoshi Warrior were definitely off the list."

"But why the Earth King?"

"I figured he would be a lousy liar, out of everyone involved." Azula stared down into her tea. Her last memory of being served like this was when Ty Lee had tried to drug her back on Kyoshi Island, but Iroh hardly had to stoop to such measures to keep her in his power. She raised the cup and took a deep sip. The warmth pooled in her stomach, and stretched out to the rest of her body. "I just... I'm not sure when that occurred to me. I went seeking... something in the city of Yang, and then some time later, I found myself on the road to Ba Sing Se. There are blank spots, and a... a _pressure_ in my skull that wasn't there before... the Earth King. It's like it's all blocked off, behind a wall that seems like it's always been there."

Iroh reached over, took her chin carefully in his hand, and raised her head so that they were looking in each other's eyes. "Niece, I need you to be truthful with me. How much do you remember of your life?"

She met his gaze unflinchingly. "So little. There are images, waking dreams from before Kyoshi Island, but otherwise my life begins as a woman named Suki."

"And what happens when you try to remember being a little girl? Think to the palace, to the times we traded barbs, to the games you played with Zuko. What can you reach, from those times?"

Azula ground her teeth together, and took a deep breath, but she didn't let herself flinch from Iroh's gaze. "Nothing. To stretch my mind in that way is like forcing myself to walk off a cliff. I can't look into that abyss without feeling small, and weak. And dizzy."

He stared into her eyes, his dragon-gold gaze like a needle pushing back and through into her skull. "Like," he said slowly, "a missing limb that aches despite its absence?"

"Yes." All of Azula's breath left her at once, leaving a void inside that cleansing in its harsh purity. The candle on the table flickered, and its flame nearly went out. "Exactly."

Iroh let go of her, glanced at the candle, and then finally looked back down at his tea cup. "I was against this plan from the start. I thought that no good could come of forcing change on a person. But Zuko... all of them... wanted to save you. They truly feared for your life. And you have ever been such a mystery to me, so I allowed them to convince me that they saw something I could not. I am sorry I did not fight for you more, Niece, but I can offer my help now."

"Help?"

"You are out of balance. Your mind has been damaged, in no less than two ways. Once by your well-meaning friends, and once by our shared enemies. Not to mention your childhood! Long Feng turned you into his tool, somehow, and sent you to Ba Sing Se. And you are without a defense as long as you do not know yourself."

"And how can you help? Can you tell me what happened to me? And why?" Azula suddenly realized what she was saying, and slumped in her seat. "What am I saying? I don't know that I can trust you any more than the others."

Iroh nodded. "You cannot. That is why I don't offer you _my_ perspective, or proofs of dubious origin. I offer you the chance to go _within_, to find the answers that lie in your own heart and mind. I once journeyed to the Spirit World, and the journey into the landscape of your own mind is similar enough."

Could he be implying... "You're saying I can restore my memories? Reverse what was done to me?"

"I do not know. How can I, when not even you can tell what lies within you? I believe it is worth a try, though. And I will tell you anything that you cannot remember, I promise. But... there is another danger..."

Azula had to suppress a snort. "Of course there is. Nothing worth doing is easy. What's this danger?"

Iroh finally looked up at her, and when she saw the gold in his eyes reflect the candlelight, Azula realized she was once again facing the Dragon of the West. "Yourself. Whatever memories, whatever feelings, whatever life you regain will come with the _responsibility_ for that history. For your crimes. And if my help brings about even greater hurt on this world... I will take responsibility for _my_ actions. Do you understand? Do you still wish to try this?"

Azula smiled, and it was all teeth. "Do you honestly think that I have _anything_ to lose?"

* * *

There were seated back in the basement supply room. The crates had been removed, and the shelves emptied of the clutter. A mat was spread out over the floor, and Iroh and Azula were seated upon it in lotus positions (or, in Azula's case, the closest she could manage with her Traitor Arm still bound), facing each other like Pai Sho opponents. Between them, a line of burning candles stood like a gate. It was a convenient place to meditate, and away from prying eyes, but Azula knew the real reason they were down there. She would be unlocking secrets hidden away in the depths of her own mind, and what that might do to her was completely unknown. It was possible that Iroh would have to imprison her, and it might even be for her own good. For all Azula knew, this was all playing into Long Feng's plans for her.

She took a deep breath and bottled all those worries and concerns in her lungs. Then, as one, uncle and niece breathed out their troubles and material concerns, and the flames responded with a glow that lit the entire room. "Do you feel it," Iroh droned, "the Fire that lives within just as it lives without?"

"I do," Azula whispered, and it was the truth. Her heart beat in time with the pulse of the candle flames, which pumped her blood out through the veins of her body, and pushed Qi along the paths in her flesh and Spirit both. All was connected, but there was a steadiness in the Fire that Azula had never felt before, for Iroh's spirit was also present in the heat and light and lifeglow, and he and the Flame knew each other so well that they could no longer be considered separate entities.

But then, that might have just been the 'special tea' that Iroh had given her. He had said it was an aid for reaching the proper state of mind to travel to the Spirit World, and would work just as well for a journey within. Azula had refrained from joking that perhaps he developed a special taste for it long ago.

Iroh's voice was the sound of the burning wicks: "Now, there is nothing but you."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"The flame, the air, the breath, the sky, and you are all one."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"All is merely an expression of You."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"You."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"_Now._"

Now.

The flames flared and turned blue, but Azula was already gone.

* * *

_I_ am gone. I, who had called myself Azula, am now transformed into the most pure energy. All is energy, and energy is Fire, and so all is Fire, and so I am Fire.

I sit on my father's knee, a flickering little flame in the shape of a girl, as he explains this to me.

"You must realize how special you are, Azula." I am pleased, down the core of my flame. I like being special, and I like even more that my _father_ calls me special. I look up, and his face is a skull covered in shadow, and his voice is a blue wind the buffets my heart, and all around us the world burns, but all I care for are his words. "You know the legend of the Agni Warrior," he says, and I nod. I would nod even if I didn't know. I would nod if he decided that the only way to please him was to die. "The Agni Warrior was born of the light of the Sun, a tongue of its hottest flame that chose to walk the Earth as a Man, Spirit and Fire made flesh. He gathered those upon whom the Sun Shone the brightest, the Dragonkin, and freed them from the bonds of slavery to the Earth."

I nod, and the burning world around us screams like a dying animal. It is the sound of ecstasy.

Father continues, "The great Lords of Men stood against the Agni Warrior, but none could withstand him in battle. For he had his Sword, a blade that scorched the lands with every swing, that birthed a volcano with every strike. The Fire Sages collect many legends about this Sword alone, but do you want to know the truth?"

I do, and not only because he wants me to.

"The Sword was in truth the greatest of the Agni Warrior's followers, a Firebender whose power the world would see but once more. This Firebender gave up his life, gave up his body and his mind and his memories of human life, and became a weapon to be held by the Light of the Sun made flesh. The Agni Warrior used the sword to carve a chain of volcanos that became the Fire Islands, spread his people across the ash-lands, and sired an order of Sages to lead them all. Before he left, the Agni Warrior prophesied that his Sword would be born again, of his bloodline, and finish the job he started: to deliver all the lands to the Sun and the Fire."

It is too much. Too glorious. I take the words and the joy in his wind and I build a heart and mind to house it forever, the only heart and mind that I have in the flame of my body.

The skull that is his face turns, and he looks me in the eyes with empty sockets out of which the bodies of all our victims tumble. "The Sword has been reborn, Azula." His words drive a spear of ice into my stomach. How can this be? If the Sword has returned, than what need does my father have of me? I'm just a little flame, not even a real person. Without his will, I am nothing. But then my father smiles, his skull pulls free of the shadows, and I look up with awe and honor and take his words unto my Inner Fire: "_You_ are the Sword of the Agni Warrior, Azula. You will deliver the world to my control. And I will make you a worthy Sword. I will break you and melt you down and forge you into the most terrible weapon of which I can conceive."

I cry out, and give him my love, and he accepts it, though love itself is a pale offering to one such as he...

* * *

We fight on the banks of the river.

I snap out a roundhouse kick, launching a cloud of ash into the air as my boot leaves the ground, and the ash gives way to flame when I throw my Qi and killing intent into the strike. The Other ducks beneath the fire and moves forward without flinching, but I have spun and reestablished my stance by now, and so I am ready to block her palm strikes. Her own attacks come in a flurry with speed that I envy, and even as I accept her strikes on my forearms she steps closer and transitions into hammering away with her hardened elbows. My bones protest with screams that echo up through my arms and hammer at my brain from within; I have a moment to wonder why my armor isn't protecting me before the noise starts echoing in my skull and erases all my thoughts.

I am knocked back by the cacophony, and nearly stumble into the river. The banks here are nothing more than an unending pile of ash, and they shift beneath my boots. Perhaps if I wasn't wearing full armor, I would be better able to keep my footing, but the weight of it on my body turns my every footstep into a stab at the yielding ground.

I cannot catch my balance, and I throw out my arms for anything I might be able to grasp as I stumble backwards towards the river-

There is nothing to keep me from falling-

I plunge backwards into the river-

It is a river of blood.

It is old blood, mixed with ash from the banks, and its taste overwhelms me with rust and oil and disease and old meat. It burns my eyes, although that might just be the ash particles, and beats its way up my nose and into my lungs. I try to breathe, but it is like trying to breathe stone, and my lungs fill with blood that is not my own to make them as heavy as the armor that drags me to the bottom of the river.

A hand breaks through the sludge above me, and reaches down for me, but I can only stare at it as I sink...

* * *

My grave is dark, I can't Firebend, and I can feel the worms starting to work their way into my body.

I surrender to death as soon as possible, but it isn't soon enough...

* * *

The child won't come out, no matter how much I call to her. To be fair, it is a nice house, set right on swell of the hill so that it has a perfect view of Kyoshi Island's fishing bay. It's the type of place I could see myself retiring to, someday. First, though, I have to earn a place like this, a place to call my own, and that's going to take a lot of dead bodies. I don't know why they like to have me kill people, but a job's a job.

I don't tell the child that, though. She's a skittish little thing, and telling her that I might someday get an order to snap her pretty little neck isn't going to get her out of that house.

From the front yard, just a step or two from the porch, I coo to her through the open windows and promise her lots of toys and treats if she would just come out, and I think that it sounds pretty nice, if I do say so myself. I like my voice, and when it's all soft and ingratiating, I can make people do whatever I want. I don't even have to flash any leg. To be honest, I don't even know if my legs are nice enough to bother flashing, and it would be beneath me to ask someone if I have a good pair of legs. The child, however, just isn't buying it. My voice, I mean, not my legs. She shouts out a negative, like a whiny, petulant, spoiled brat, and I'm half tempted to use my delicious little voice to describe how I can set this house on Fire, complete with all the details I can make up about how it feels to burn to death. I don't do any of it, though, because I want the child to come to me as a friend.

I don't have many friends, and definitely none that haven't tried to kill me at some point or another.

So I go on with my lovely, valuable voice about what fun we'll have together if the girl will just come out, how we'll go watch the fishing boats come in when the sun sets, and then go to the best fish fry on Kyoshi Island to get some dinner. I even promise to tell her stories about the war and the Fire Nation, and soon enough I'm even pledging on my honor that we can take a vacation to Ember Island to buy some ice cream and flirt with the stupid boys. I tell her how much she'll like ice cream, because it's sweet and creamy like my voice, and I used to like it when I was a little girl except I make that last part up because I was never a little girl.

The child still doesn't come out. Instead, she commands me to leave.

I'm a wonderful person, but the one thing that I absolutely cannot tolerate is being ordered around like some kind of slave. So I simply tell her, fine, mean little girls don't get to go for ice cream, mean little girls get to inhale smoke while their stupid house burns down around them. I raise my hand and the Fire holds it like a comforting parent, and I'm about to burn down a house I love and a girl I desperately want to be friends when a hand-

-a real hand-

-grabs my wrist and tells me, "Don't."

I turn to look and it's The Other. She tells me, "Don't be that way. Let her stay in the house if she wants. If you burn it down then she won't have a chance to come out and be friends later."

Her voice is every bit as lovely as mine.

* * *

I sit down on the riverbank of ash, and it really doesn't matter because the grainy river-blood is still dripping from between the plates of my armor. It's peaceful in this land of ash, and as I look across the river at the approaching ferry, I can almost imagine that I am staring out over real water, colored by the setting sun. But there is no sun, here, because my father devoured it long ago. The sky is nothing more than a field of storm clouds, always writhing with unending chains of lightning that are the only source of light in this land. The one part of me that isn't covered in blood is my hand, the hand that The Other grabbed to drag me out of the river. The blood refuses to even drip down over that hand.

"We should be fighting," I say.

She looks over, and her beauty is another thing that doesn't belong in this world of ash. She should be somewhere else, somewhere with a real sun and rivers of water. "I've never really understood fighting. I know how, but whenever people try to fight me I can't help but think that there are easier ways to get things done."

I shake my head at her, and I laugh. I love her so much. "Fighting is the whole point. I don't fight you to get things done, I fight you because of who we are."

"Who are we?"

"Me and you. And then there's the child, but if she doesn't want to play then I'm not going to worry about her."

"But why do we fight?"

"Because we have to. No matter how you look at it, we have to fight."

She really does look sad at that. She sheds a pair of perfect little tears, and I actually feel a little jealous because my tears are ugly, and when I cry I do it with all the grace of the Unagi in a bathtub. "But all I want to do is help you. I've helped you already, against the Dark and the Voice, and again with the Knife. I'm meant to help you."

"No, you think so, but it's not true. You're not real. You're just a list of what other people want for me. If I stop fighting you, then I become your slave." The blood keeps dripping from me, and I don't think I'll ever be able to get dry as long as I'm here, with The Other.

"So whose slave would you rather be?"

I look over at her, and she really is so beautiful. I smile and reach my clean hand over to run a hand through her rich black hair, and then I grab her face and twist and slam her head over into my rising knee...

* * *

The world explodes into Fire.

It hits me like my father's fists, threatening to knock me over, but the wooden pillar below me stays steady and solid and so I'm left standing in the sky. The flames eventually settle down onto my wooden skin, and the view is once more clear enough to see out over the island. Kyoshi's main village, the fishing village, burns below me. Storm clouds gather in the distance, out over the ocean, but the people- my glorious people who called Kyoshi Island home and lived for generations below me- are clustered on the docks, trying to steal whatever vessel will carry them from the flames. I try to call out to them, to tell them that all will be okay if they just stay here and help me fight the fire, but my wooden body has no lungs, and so my voice exists only in my imagination.

Then another ball of fire comes arcing out of the storm clouds, an azure flare that arcs toward me with a fearsome intelligence, and my world explodes into flame again. I want to scream, but not because I burn; I try to scream because I know that I have failed, that I am not perfect, and less than perfect is less than acceptable. The storm clouds flow in from over the ocean, fed by the foul black smoke of my own burning body, and without my people, without a voice, I lack the will to keep the storm away...

* * *

I have been lost in the dark for countless centuries, and see an endless stretch of darkness before me.

I know this place, and can only whimper against it. It's not real fear, the fear that keeps people away from things that could hurt and kill them, this is the wrong fear. It's the fear that comes from having been hurt already, hurt so horribly that I can't even run from it, I can only despair at the prospect of being hurt that way again. But it is also a wrong fear because it's a fear I don't need to feel, for I have survived this once before, and I need not fear that which I have already survived.

I survived because of Her, and in the darkness, I suddenly find that my eyes work again. The storm clouds are parted by a shaft of golden light that pierces the night and brings warmth to my icy skin. She has come for me, once again. My love, my self, my Other...

* * *

We're on a cliff, and it could be one of the higher elevations of the Serpent's Pass, or the bluffs on Kyoshi Island, or an island in the sea of blood, or anything. I'm not a geography freak. The only part I care about is that He is here. He's being like He always is, kind and caring and beautiful and intelligent, and saying, "It's so hard to lose someone you care about. Something happened at the North Pole, and I couldn't protect someone. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again."

I could burst into flames, I feel _so much_. I can taste His sorrow, and because it's His sorrow that I feel it just the same, but also I'm ready to burst with happiness because even though He isn't talking about me, He really is. He's afraid of losing me. He's admitting that I'm important to Him.

I don't even know who I am, but the fact that He cares about me makes it all right. I say something back to Him, something flirtatious but He doesn't get it because I'm the worst at flirting in the entire world, and He doesn't hear that I'm really saying, "Kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me!"

He's kind of stupid that way, too.

So finally I tell Him that what I really mean, only a little more coherently than the whole kissy mantra, and He says, "_Oh._" My stomach flips at the prospect that it might be a good Oh, and my heart chills at the thought that it might be a bad Oh. But then our faces draw together, and I close my eyes because suddenly the sight of Him is the _least_ interesting thing going on right now and that's really saying something, and our lips draw together and touch-

"I can't."

I don't know why He can't, but I have the sinking sensation- like a stone in my stomach dragging me down into a river of blood- that it's because of The Other. Either He's afraid of her, or He wants her more than He wants me, and I don't know which terrifies me more because either way that means I'll never really have Him. "I'm... sorry."

"No, you shouldn't be."

* * *

Our fight lasts long enough for the ferry to arrive, and even as it slides up onto the banks of ash, I chop a small arc of Fire at The Other's middle, but she throws herself into a butterfly kick that carries her over the flame. I prepare once again for a counter assault, but she refuses to yield to my expectations. She allows her landing to carry her all the way down to the ground in crouch, and the impact causes an explosion of ash that obscures my vision, so it's too long before I realize that she has rolled through the cloud and come up near the beached ferry.

I immediately launch another attack, throwing out as many as punches and short kicks as I can, not caring that I'm too far away for them to connect because there's no limit to the Fire I can summon. She dodges each attack, sidestepping and leaning and ducking and hopping, and the only thing all her moves have in common is that she manages to take a step back towards the ferry with each one. Even as her left foot lands on the tied wooden logs of the ferry's main platform, I am still striking, only now I'm close enough that it's easier just to throw my flesh against hers. She slaps my fists out of the way, twists to take my kicks on the least vulnerable parts of her body, and smiles as one of my punches falls just short of her nose.

I'm still attacking when the ferry pulls itself back onto the river, not at all disturbed by our battle atop it.

The fight lasts for centuries. Ages come and go, civilizations rise and fall, and the whole time I try to end her life while she defends herself and the river of blood passes beneath us. It varies, of course, given how much time we cover. Sometimes she succeeds through sheer impossible skill, but other times she fights like a beginner and only her unwillingness to fall down and die is what keeps the war going. Sometimes she even goes on the offensive, battering at my defenses just to win herself a reprieve. It hurts when she hits me, oh by the Agni Warrior it hurts, but my life is never in danger. The Other too beautiful to kill me.

The fight, the ride on the ferry, could have lasted for centuries more, but eventually I get tired...

* * *

The girl is still locked in the house below us, but we don't care. The Other and I just climb up to the roof, and lie down on top of it to soak in the warmth of the sun. I can still hear the girl inside, ordering us to bring her ice cream, but we ignore her shrieking. Instead, I say, "So what do you have in mind?"

The Other looks up at the sun, and her black hair almost shines in its light, and I like the look so much that I decide that I have black hair, too, and so I do. Still gazing into the sky's healthy glow, she speaks slowly and softly, like to a frightened child. "Nothing has to change. Just you become me and I become you. You get to know what I know, and I get the strength and flesh to heal my wounds."

I frown, but not because I'm displeased. It's part of how I think. "Doesn't sound like a bad trade."

"I didn't think so. And as a bonus, we get to love each other and not fight."

"Still going on about that, are you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Okay what?"

"Okay, okay. Let's do it. Let's stop being you and me, and just be Me, and then we can go destroy our enemies and find our friends."

She turns to look at me, and I decide that she would look stunning with auburn hair, and so she has it. "About slushin' time," she says.

* * *

I hug my mother before We wake up.

* * *

It took her a while to wake up.

In the light of the fire she summoned, she didn't recognize her surroundings until she spotted the line of wax puddles on the floor in front of her. She made the connection between the mess and the candles she and Uncle Iroh had meditated around, and then it all came back to her. She was in his supply basement, trying to reconnect with her own mind and past. She had been trying to slay an enemy that lived within, so that she would be able to slay an enemy who lived without. Taking a deep breath, she began pushing she sluggish mind into the past, trying to remember her childhood. Was her father Ozai? A fisherman on Kyoshi Island who died in a mudslide? How had she been taught to fight, and by who? She marshaled her strength, and tried to _remember_…

And she remembered nothing. Yet it didn't hurt to try; there was no nausea, no headache, no ill feeling that threatened to dampen her Inner Fire. It was just a lack of memory, no worse than forgetting what she had for breakfast. A definite improvement. Long Feng and Dong Min's techniques must be...

...fool...

...proof...

_Long Feng._

She had _met_ with Long Feng. He turned other women into an army of Azula's. He captured her. Put her in the Dark with the Voice. Sent her here.

_She remembered._ Well, well, well...

There was but one more test she had to perform, and it would involve risking her life.

It was time to free her Traitor Arm.

First, she unleashed the knife. She let the fire in her hand go out, plunging the room into darkness. Even without seeing, she worked quickly. The strings parted against the pressure of her fingers, and the wooden slats that they had tied into place clattered to the ground. She could feel the hard edge of the knife pressed against her body, but she sat straight up enough that she was in no danger. Untying knot on the cloth wrapping that bound the arm to her body took some work, but she didn't think that the simplicity of burning it off was worth the risk of lighting her clothes on fire. The fabric was stiff as she unspooled it from around her middle, almost like it had been soaked in something and then allowed to dry and harden. The arm was pale where the sleeve had been pulled back, and the skin was imprinted with the texture of the coarse fabric. The arm stayed in place like an obedient dog until she willed it to move.

She could feel the arm straightened out in front of her, but she had to see it. She summoned a flame again in her free hand, and the knife glistened in the blue light. It glistened, but _it didn't move._ Then she willed her hand to open. The fingers stretched with the grace and steadiness of the earth itself waking and rising. One by one, they peeled back from the weapon.

And so the knife fell through the air and struck the floor, blade first. She left it where it was and ascended the stairs out of the basement.

When she pushed open the door, she found Uncle Iroh once again in his kitchen, but this time the sun streamed through the window behind him. He was, of course, in the process of boiling a pot of tea. Let the door to the basement swing shut behind her, she went over the kitchen table and said, "I'm back."

He turned to face her with obvious surprise. "Niece! Welcome back to the physical world. I must say, I'm relieved to see you. It's been three days, and I was starting to get worried. I thought I would have to put off the shop's reopening tomorrow."

"Three days," she repeated as she took a seat at the table. "Huh."

Uncle Iroh bustled over to her and deposited a steaming cup in front of her. "I see that you re-established balance in your body and control of all your limbs. But what of your memory?" He sat down at the table with his own cup, and gave her a look that struck her as half concerned and half terrified.

"Something I've never been able to figure out," she said slowly, considering the matter even as she vocalized it, "is why my hair is red. Suki was supposed to have the red tint in her hair, but Azula had black hair. Why is my hair like Suki's?"

Uncle Iroh gazed at her for a long moment before answering. "That was apparently one of Zuko's… lies. Azula- you- always had auburn hair. You and your mother were both known for it, in the Fire Palace, but of course most pictures are drawn in black ink. It would have been an easy deception to maintain for most of the world. I believe that Zuko thought it was a deception that would protect you."

He sighed. "From what he and Sokka told me, it was all for your protection. You were already sick in the mind from the pressures of your father's manipulations, but we all still saw you as a threat. Avatar Aang took your Firebending, thinking it the least hurtful way of neutralizing the danger, but you responded... poorly. And so Sokka and your brother invented this Kyoshi Warrior who you could become, to live a safe and happy life. I know it may sound unfair, but I confess I am relieved that you cannot remember your true life as Azula." Uncle Iroh looked up at that point, and gave a smile and a wink. "If you are telling the truth."

She found herself smiling back. "If _you're_ telling the truth, you mean." She held her formerly traitorous hand above the tea cup, enjoying the feel of the heat that emanated from it. "I'm not quite sure what happened in my mind, but... I made a connection, of some kind. I still can't remember anything before... Suki... but it no longer hurts. And I'm missing nothing of the person I am now."

She raised her gaze to Iroh, and with a simple motion of her finger and a small exertion of will, absorbed the heat out of her tea and into her heart. "I remember everything that has happened to me since my awakening on Kyoshi Island. Yang City, Long Feng, and his other victims. _Everything._ And I know what I want to do about it." She let out a sigh, a deep breath that cleared air out of her lungs that could have been lurking within for ages, and then she stood. "I need to use the bathroom. After that, I- we should make plans. As you warned me, I must take responsibility for the past I have rediscovered. And... I want to."

"That is good. I can offer you advice, and perhaps even a little help."

She nodded and turned to go, but Uncle Iroh's voice called out for one last grasp on her attention. "Niece?" She looked back at him. He still hadn't touched his own tea. "By what name should I call you?"

It was a good question, and she gave it heavy consideration before she finally responded. "I suppose... '_Azula_' will still do. I don't have many weapons left, and casting aside the most devastating of them would be foolish." She smiled, and put on an expression that was all heat and anger. "Yes. Call me Azula."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	18. Parallels and Perpendiculars, Part 1

**Parallels and Perpendiculars, Part 1**

Ba Sing Se did not see many ships, compared to some. For such a large city, it engaged in a proportionally low amount of trade, a legacy of its isolationist policies during the war with the Fire Nation. Certainly, even during the hundred-year conflict, it had still imported a certain amount of food and materials, but the city had never _depended_ on that trade. The Fire Nation had been all too keen to interrupt as many supply lines to the Earth Kingdom's capital as it could, and Ba Sing Se's masters quickly figured that the city's survival depended strongly on its self-reliance. To become too dependent on outside connections, even in good times, was to risk the bad times being _very_ bad times. So, sometimes, the Lower Ring had to make do with food at which that even farm animals might have turned their noses; it was better than not having any food at all.

Additionally, Ba Sing Se itself was not situated close enough to a sea to draw the attention of most sailors. There was a chain of rivers that led from the coast up to the city, but that meant sailing upriver quite a distance until reaching Full Moon Bay, and during the war much of the city's bayside docks had been devoted to the ferries that brought new crowds of refugees and immigrants every day. As with the wider trade, more ships had begun arriving since the rise of Fire Lord Zuko and the return of a kind of peace to the world, but most sailors still preferred more accessible ports that weren't so concerned with law, order, and bureaucracy.

_The Hidden Gem_, however, had been to Ba Sing Se before, and so its captain knew the true danger those ports represented. Meisai found her Father at his regular station at the ship's wheel, and took a moment to look ahead at the nearing pier. "That's a lot of guards. I've never seen so many on a single dock. Even the Kyoshi Warriors are more relaxed." Naturally, the reference made her mind flash over to memories of the woman who claimed to be Suki, and now was known as Azula. Meisai had come to Ba Sing Se for her, and now she had to hope she could find the Princess before it was too late. (Too late for what?)

Father sighed as he turned the wheel to get the ship on a better approach angle. "It's not an unusual sight for Ba Sing Se's docks, just for this day and age. Back during the war, the Dai Li- the supposed 'cultural authority' of the city- used to come out in force to watch any trade ships, especially if the Fire Nation was acting frisky over at the Wall. The Dai Li made sure that we- all us sailors- didn't bring dangerous news from the outside, or proscribed cargo, or... well, any people who didn't have the proper passports and permissions. I never liked being under their eyes."

"Hm." Meisai didn't like the sound of that. She could normally take or leave Ba Sing Se, as there were plenty of ports in the world more welcoming to business, but none of those ports would be any help to her today. There was a chance of trouble if the city had a lot of practice at keeping a close eye on visitors, and was on high alert for reasons that _just might_ be related to Meisai's reason for being here. But what were the odds that Azula was involved some kind of trouble that had the whole city up in arms?

Pretty good, actually.

"I'll go supervise our new crew while we dock," Meisai said, and put the matter out of her mind for now. They had to get into the city first, and then there would be time to be properly paranoid.

* * *

The Chubang Mountains did not see many birds, compared to some. The surrounding land was rocky and barren, and few of the animal residents had bothered to make the ascent over the ages, even those with wings. However, the Chubangs' most recent immigrants brought with them a small and very specialized avian population. The practice of using Messenger Hawks had been limited mostly to the Fire Nation during the war, but the people who laired within these mountains had learned the benefits of multiculturalism. One such hawk raced through the air towards one specific mountain, and eventually stooped into a seemingly innocuous cave. Within, a collection of wooden perches were set up, with only half of them currently occupied. The new arrival had no sooner found itself a perch when a man emerged from the depths of the cave to check the tube strapped to the hawk's back.

The scroll in the tube was coded, of course, but a set of characters at the top of the paper told the man all he needed to know: This was news from Ba Sing Se, and it was for Long Feng's personal attention.

Sadly, the characters did not say whether the news was good, or the unfortunate alternative.

* * *

The Upper Ring café of the Jasmine Dragon did not see much intrigue, compared to some. It was a popular social node in the most exclusive neighborhood in the world, which normally would have made it a playground of scheming for the wealthy locals, but it was also a favorite watering hole of the City Watch, thanks to the more modestly priced teas that Iroh kept in a small, innocuous corner of the menu. That kept the drama down. Also, the Jasmine Dragon's true owner- an Upper Ring investor from an old, respected, and _very_ rich family- always paid the taxes on time, along with all the traditional bribes, so the government itself had no reason to make trouble. Iroh's personal history represented another possible source of danger, of course, but he had so far managed to hide behind the name of "Mushi," along with a handy recent history of having ascended out of the Lower Ring from amongst the refugees of the war.

And then there was the White Lotus.

Not too long ago, it had been an organization devoted solely to the unrestricted flow of learning and the rich game of Pai Sho. As the war went on, the notion of the "unrestricted flow of learning" was stretched to include any communication that crossed borders to the possible detriment of one or more of the counties in question. In the Fire Nation, the White Lotus network had developed into a kind of anti-propaganda rebel organization. The portion of the network in the Earth Kingdom had sometimes aided in military communication, but more often was used to personally assist refugees who were either members of the White Lotus or friends of those who were. The Northern Water Tribe had simply used its network to keep track of what was going on in the outside world without drawing attention to itself.

Then, in the final season of the hundred-year conflict, Iroh had sent calls for favors out to all three nations, and briefly turned the White Lotus into an elite military force that had liberated Ba Sing Se from the greatest military in the world. That left the question of what, exactly, the White Lotus wanted to be in the new world order. Would it go back to being a secret organization of philosophers and game enthusiasts, or would it wield the power it had accidentally accumulated over its existence? Iroh didn't know how things would develop, but in the meantime, he had no compunctions about using the organization for his own purposes. He was a Grand Lotus, after all, and despite now being retired from the military and living as a simple tea-brewer, he still somehow found himself balancing the fate of the world on his finger time and time again.

Iroh was serving some cups of a nice but inexpensive jasmine tea to a table full of off-duty soldiers when a young man in one the restaurant's uniforms slipped into the main dining hall from the rear and made an innocuous motion. Iroh caught it out of the corner of his eye and nodded in reply, and then turned his attention back to his customers. "I hope you enjoy, my friends. If you need anything, just get Jin's attention. She knows to take care of whatever you want." Giving the men a relaxed smile, he retreated back towards his 'employee.'

Really, his spy.

"Grand Lotus," the man said with a bow once he and Iroh were in one of the unoccupied private serving rooms.

"What news?"

"Mostly the same from the guards, I'm sorry to say. Their search for the Earth King's killer continues unabated. They're checking everyone who tries to leave the city, no matter how much it slows things down. They have made one addition to their methods, though." He reached into his sleeve, and removed a rolled-up piece of paper. It was quickly unfurled, and Iroh found himself staring at a face that sometimes haunted his nightmares.

It was an ink drawing of Azula.

"The guards are now showing this around, looking for this woman. They're not trying to hide the fact that she must be the assassin."

Iroh nodded, and took the paper. He had seen this before. This _exact_ sketch. Zuko had distributed it after Kyoshi Island had burned, when he put out a bounty on his returned sister. Was there any limit to the unfortunate repercussions of this scheme of his and Sokka's? "I want to know how the search goes, especially if she is caught. Also, I think it's time to start putting pressure on our... _extra_ special contacts here in the city. There may not be much of a Fire Nation preference yet, even in the Lower Ring, but if Azula seeks help getting out of the city, it's likely she'll talk to her fellow Firebenders."

The man bowed, and left without another word. He was an especially useful servant, and not just for his ability to manage and cultivate information. He never asked Iroh the reasons behind his interests, content to occupy his mind with more abstract philosophical matters. He also appreciated a good cup of tea, but Iroh did not have the time right now to indulge that shared habit.

Speaking of which, it was time for Iroh to deal with his own pressing business. He and his niece had to make a decision about her fate.

* * *

The master of the _Hidden Gem_ was, of course, Meisai's father, the respectable and trustworthy Captain Toru. She served as his first mate, and for the journey to Ba Sing Se they had hired the five-man crew of the Rough Rhino deserters, for a total of seven people manning the ship. For a vessel of the _Hidden Gem_'s size, this was a little light, but not unreasonable. At most, the ship had boasted a crew of double that.

That's why, with no less than twenty-one of Ba Sing Se's uniformed guards standing on the _Hidden Gem_'s deck, things were a little crowded. Although none of them wore armor, their uniforms, hats, and most especially the dual dao swords strapped to their sides gave them a very official presence. The soldiers had gathered right on the edge of the pier while the ship had coasted into place, and even as Ogodei had leaped down and wrapped a rope around the mooring post, the guards were already bringing a ramp over to facilitate a boarding action. Mongke tensed like he was preparing to offer some fiery resistance and the other Rhinos had clearly been looking to him to lead the way, but then Meisai had stepped out and waved her hands. "All right, let's all relax, huh? This is Ba Sing Se, they need a squad just to stamp all the customs forms, yeah? We don't have any cargo, so this will be over fast, and then we can go do our shopping. Nice and calm, everyone." Fortunately, that had seemed to do the trick. Either Meisai had good leadership skills, or the Rhinos were going to see if she was discovered as a Firebender first before deciding whether to attack.

The soldiers had arranged themselves across the deck, swords left in their sheaths, and watched while their commander stepped up to Father. The man nodded and said, "Welcome to Ba Sing Se. Papers, please." Father produced his documentation without a word, and when the commander saw the stamped sheet that proved that the _Hidden Gem_ had been to Ba Sing Se before, he added, "Ah, welcome _back._Apologies for the forwardness of the boarding, but we're currently dealing with a special security situation."

Father smiled and nodded like he did for every customs inspector. "That's quite all right, sir. We understand the need for law and order. Is there any way we can make things go easier? We don't have any cargo yet, we're here on a purchasing expedition."

The commanding soldier handed the papers back. "Your cooperation is appreciated. I'm going to have to station several guards in front of your ship, and anyone who boards will have to show official identification. You are not allowed to accept passengers leaving the city at this time. Also, we must do thorough inspections of any cargo you wish to bring aboard. As you might suspect, we are looking for a fugitive, and nothing will stop us in killing or apprehending her."

"Her?"

"Yes. Clearly, you have not heard the news. The 52nd Earth King is dead." The soldier's face twisted like he had bitten into the foulest food. "His assassin is still at large."

Meisai's blood chilled, but as much as she wanted to ignore the suspicions infesting her mind, she found herself saying, "And you know who did it?"

The commander's face grew very, very hard. "We do. He was assassinated by that _dragon-licker,_ Azula. The Fire Princess! She must hate this city more than anything."

Meisai's stomach dropped out from within her.

* * *

Uncle Iroh had given Azula his second-floor bedroom for her use and refuge while he managed his teashop below, and while she was quite appreciative that she wasn't locked in the supply basement again, she was suspicious that it was only because her uncle actually needed the stockroom during business hours and found little point in denying her access to windows. Both the City Watch and the armored soldiers from the Royal Palace were still out in force, and as much as she would have liked to to try to escape, it was simply impossible for her right now.

Azula wasn't one to waste time, though, or did she like dwelling on what was impossible. She was in the middle of a series of Firebending drills when there was a knock on the bedroom door. "I'm decent," she called without breaking her form.

The door quickly opened and closed just a crack, and somehow as a result Uncle Iroh's whole form had transported into the room. He took a moment to watch as Azula drew her body up into a loose stance she was trying out for the first time, and said, "That's an unusual Firebending form, there."

"Yes, it probably is." Azula very pointedly didn't say anything more. She had no desire to share her reasoning about _this_ little project, especially considering the disagreement she and her uncle were currently having. Deciding that she was finished with her practice for now, she relaxed and sat turned to face her guest and host. "Have you come around to my way of thinking, yet?"

Uncle Iroh sat down in a chair on the far side of the room, but ignored her taunt. "Speaking of Firebending, we've discussed your recent journeys, but you never explained how you got your Flame back after the Avatar took it from you."

Azula went over to take a seat on her the room's bed. "That would be because I have no idea whatsoever. When I was Suki, I didn't even suspect that I was a Firebender. Ozai... er, my father... when he forced me to become Azula again, I just spontaneously started Firebending. I don't even really know what the Avatar did to me; I just know that everyone with an interest is always surprised to see me with my Fire."

"Hmmm, very strange." Uncle Iroh stroked his beard. "Aang used the same power on you as he did on Ozai, but he said he changed his technique. My brother... for all his faults, he was a man of great strengths. Physically, he was one of the greatest Firebenders in the world. He was a true master of the martial art, and I dare say that even without his Firebending he would have been a fatal opponent to nearly everyone who might have challenged him. What Aang engaged in was very much a duel of wills, of Qi, and in that way it was a contest of brute strength. To win, Aang had no choice but to win _completely_, like being forced to hit someone hard enough to permanently cripple them in order to break through their defenses."

Iroh shifted his gaze over to the window, to the sun visible in the cloudless sky. "For you, strength was not required. Nor did Aang wish to disable your body so completely. Even now, Ozai's body reflects the trauma of the blow to his Qi. Aang wanted a technique for the power that would truly do nothing more than remove Bending, leaving the Bender otherwise healthy. Perhaps that technique is not irreversible, or he did not complete what he started. Qi is a matter of the Spirit, and is touched by much in our lives. Our age, our health, our mindset, our everyday actions. Perhaps you healed yourself, without even realizing it."

Azula thought back to how her Firebending had weakened during her time in Yang, and what she had to experience to get the unique blue color back in her flames. She managed to avoid flinching when the memories of The Victim's- _Mianju's_- burned face flashed through her mind. "Perhaps." Then she thought of the light in the darkness that had saved her from fully falling to Long Feng's programming, and the feeling like a warm hand that allowed her to fight off the knife that she had been forced to hold to her own throat. "Yes, perhaps."

When she didn't say anything more, Uncle Iroh cleared his throat and produced a rolled paper from his sleeve. "Here, the guards are all now armed with this sketch. They know it was you who killed the King, and they're making sure that the citizenry will recognize you."

"Well, we expected eventually." Azula unrolled the sheet and looked at what the world imagined when its people spoke her name. The drawing was done in black ink, probably professionally printed from an original, and was a very good likeness. "You're right. This makes my hair look perfectly black."

"I doubt that will make for the foundation of an effective disguise, though."

"No, you're right." Putting the paper aside, she looked back over at her uncle and quirked an eyebrow. "So we're coming down to it. Either you help me get out of the city, or I'll still be stuck here until Zuko and Aang arrive."

Finally have coming back to their old argument, Uncle Iroh sighed and leaned forward in his seat. "Niece, I truly believe that your best option is to turn yourself in. Yes, your safety would be in question in the hands of the City Watch or (Spirits forbid) the Palace Guard. But Zuko will protect your life while you're under his arrest, and the Avatar can likely arrange the Water Tribes to take custody of you while the details are worked out. Your information about Long Feng will be very valuable, and I have no doubt that Ba Sing Se will eventually admit that getting the true culprit is more important than taking revenge against you."

Azula resisted the urge to add her own sigh to the conversation. "I have doubts where you don't, apparently. And you haven't been out this storm that's overtaking the world. Long Feng's reach is too great! I don't care if you stick me in an igloo guarded by the White Lotus, Long Feng will manage to get an agent to me. I think I proved that effectively enough when he got me to the Earth King. And even if you_can_ fight him off, you'll never capture him. He probably has sources all over the city. We agreed the other night that he probably got Ozai out of jail and to Kyoshi Island, so he must have agents in the Fire Nation, too. If we're going to catch him, I'm going to have to go out and do it myself, on a battleground he hasn't already prepared."

"And why does it have to be _you?_" Uncle Iroh folded his arms over his belly. "I know the sweet call of revenge, Niece, but it is not worth burning the world to attain. I stared that decision in the face when... when I lost..." Azula looked away so that she couldn't see him, and tried to tell herself that he might be faking the catch in his voice to manipulate her. The stories she had been told of her old life were very clear; he loved Zuko, not her, and that could drive him to do hard things. Finally, Uncle Iroh mastered himself and continued, "I chose to end the Siege and avoid further bloodshed, instead of chasing the revenge I wanted at first. Remember your own responsibilities."

"That's what I'm trying to do!" Azula stood up off the bed, and motioned at her own face. "This whole thing is about _me!_ If anyone else goes after Long Feng, he'll be smart and fade away, and next time you'll be even less aware of him than you were a month ago! But if _I_ go after him, we'll have a chance. He's made any army of duplicates of me! He lured me out to turn me into his tool! He tried his hardest to kill me once the job was done! If I'm out there in the world, drawing his attention, I can lure him into a proper trap. And that's when I'll kill him." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had said too much.

Uncle Iroh's face set, and he gave a single shake of his head. "I see more harm coming of this plan than good."

This time, Azula indulged in a sigh. She flopped back onto the bed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Were we ever on the same side?" He raised his eyebrows at that, and so Azula clarified, "When I had my memories, I mean. The original me. Were we always enemies, or was there a time- just once, even- when we agreed on something and worked together?"

A ghost of a smile nearly touched Uncle Iroh's face. "We never really understood each other. Before your mother disappeared, before... I ended the Siege... I was not especially close to you or Zuko. I loved you both, of course, and watched you grow up whenever I was living in the palace. At the very least, I knew you both well enough to see your strengths and weaknesses, but I was content to be on the periphery of your lives. The most I did was try to help you make up for your blind spots, little things like giving Zuko a present of a knife to stoke his courage, and you a doll to inspire empathy for people."

He sharpened his gaze, and their eyes met with an intensity that Azula could feel in her Inner Fire. "I succeeded with Zuko, and failed with you. When I returned to the Fire Nation, your mother was gone, and your father had fully claimed his ownership of you. He assigned you teachers- a pair of very sharp sisters named Li and Lo who had once been political opponents of mine- and made it clear that he would allow no one to 'taint' his daughter. He set you against Zuko to further sharpen your claws, and it was all I could do to support your brother as the rest of his family became hostile to him."

His voice was as warm as ever, but Azula could sense the cold _dust_ on his words. These were words that had never been spoken before, a subject that may as well have been forbidden for all that it had seen the light of day before now. She nodded and said, "So you never even made an attempt to save me."

"Yes." He did not relinquish her gaze. "I made a strategic decision, the first since I retired as a General. I could not understand you; you seemed to lack even the most basic empathy and the most natural inclination to understand the pain of others. Even when I burned my way across the Earth Kingdom, I was sorry that people had to suffer for what I thought was a righteous cause. I could rationalize that it was for the greater good, but I still felt a pain in my heart when I saw soldiers lose friends on the battlefield. It was only after my own loss that I realized the nothing is worth that price. You, on the other hand... you did not display that same capacity."

Azula had to admit, that sounded very in-character for what she had been told of herself, but it's not like the accounts couldn't be biased. "Assuming what you say is true, that still doesn't rule out trying to give me a sense of honor."

"True, but I reasoned that the effort it would take to overcome the obstacle of your cruelty would at the very least destroy me, never mind leave your brother beyond my attention. I chose to put my efforts where they would do the most good. In choosing your brother, I seemed to make an enemy of you, but whether that was because I protected him from you or _took him away_ from you, I cannot say. All I know is that you took your cues from your father, and his disdain for me meant that you would have opposed me in every way you could get away with. So I made the strategic choice." He finally lowered his eyes, and shifted in his seat. "In time, I came to see Zuko like a son. He reminded me of what I had with Lu Ten. It is possible that at times I defended him... from you... more vigorously than was justified."

Azula appreciated the admission. That was the true danger of conflict, wasn't it? Even if you fought for the right side- if such a thing even existed- you still had to fight with all your strength in order to win, and that could leave you too weak to know when to stop fighting. She was well aware that she herself might have already crossed that line back on Kyoshi Island. She could not dare to consider that she might have passed the point of no return _before_ that, that the woman she was now never even had a chance. "You said I had no empathy, but... but I _hurt_ when I think of Kyoshi Island, of Yang, of the Earth King. But how do I know I can trust it? I didn't feel anything while I was under Long Feng's spell. How do I know which one is more real?"

Uncle Iroh stood up and walked over to her. He laid his hands on her shoulders, and at this range she could smell the tea and spice that always clung to him. She could count the hairs on his chin. "I don't know the answer," he said, "but I wish I could believe in you."

Azula nodded. "I wish I could believe in me, too. Good thing there are so many lies to choose from."

* * *

Yeh-Lu had been among both the most and least recognizable people in the Fire Army, and not just because he was a Rough Rhino. In his distinctive black suit of heavy, face-concealing armor, he was an intimidating figure who didn't have to utter a word to make an impression. Of course, the suit had a practical purpose, too, with Yeh-Lu being the Rough Rhino's explosive expert; it made sense to cover every inch of your body in solid sheets of metal when you handled bombs every minute of every day. Outside the armor, though, Yeh-Lu had the kind of face that no one ever noticed, plain enough to be forgettable as soon as it was out of sight. The Rough Rhinos hadn't encountered many situations where they had to go undercover, but whenever they did, Yeh-Lu was their natural point-man.

Thus, he was the ideal person to leave the _Hidden Gem_ and take a long walk through the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se.

Once the city's soldiers had disembarked and settled into regular guard details, the _Hidden Gem_'s crew had met out of sight and hearing in the empty cargo hold. "It's sure as _ash_ time that you two told us what is really going on here," Mongke had growled to Captain Toru and Meisai.

The father-daughter team remained silent, and so Vachir had helped things along from his position leaning against the wall: "We are skeptical that our presence here has nothing to do this supposed trouble with Princess Azula."

The Rough Rhinos had all turned practiced piercing stares at their employers after that, and finally Meisai let out a heavy breath and threw her arms into the air. "Fine. You're right. We came to help her."

Mongke didn't let up. He kept his glare going and took a step towards Meisai with practiced aggression. "You're involved in a plot to assassinate the Earth King, and now you've dragged us all into the volcano with you?! Maybe we should go out to those soldiers right now and-"

"No!" Meisai shook her head vigorously. "We had no idea what was going on here, I swear by Inner Fire! Father and I encountered Azula accidentally, and helped her out. She and I... became friends. We were all captured by this Earthbender rebel group in the colonies, and once they got what they wanted out of Azula they let me and my father go. We heard they were sending the Princess to Ba Sing Se, so we decided to come try to rescue her. I swear, this whole thing with the Earth King is as new to us as it is to you, but I bet it has something to do with why we were all victimized!"

The conversation had gone in circles for a while after that, with Mongke pounding Meisai on each point of her story and getting a strange tale of Kyoshi Island and blue fires in return, until Kahchi finally got to the heart of the matter. Tugging the long tail of his beard, he said, "We've heard of the Kyoshi Island incident. And rumor has said that Azula has been very active since then in the colonies, but I can't think why she would suddenly come to turn the whole Earth Kingdom against her. So assuming we believe you, what exactly are you proposing now? If we leave without any cargo, we'll look suspicious. And we Rhinos still need the replacement part for our steamer. But getting involved with Azula is likely even more dangerous. She's not known as the Mad Banisher for nothing, never mind the current trouble."

Ogodei grunted. "Being us is dangerous. And she is still Fire Nation Royalty. Not saying that's a deal-maker, but I shed no tears for the Earth King. Back in the war, we'd be throwing her a parade for killing him."

Meisai added, "I'm sure that whatever happened, Azula didn't want to get involved in any this. That's why Father and I were kidnapped, because the creepy guy with the deep voice wanted Azula to come here and she refused. We were being used as leverage against her. She's just like all of us, just looking to get her life back. But I'm sure a group as decorated as the Rough Rhinos never did anything shady just to survive."

Mongke stretched his neck and spoke in an annoyed growl. "I was loyal to the Fire Nation and the Burning Throne for most of my life, but as long as Zuko rules, you're right, my main concern is keeping myself alive. Why should I stick my neck out for _the Mad Banisher?_"

Meisai had turned and gave Mongke a glare that lowered the temperature in the hold. "Because we may call her 'the Mad Banisher,' but that soldier called her a _dragon-licker._ Are you going to leave a woman of the Homeland at the mercy of someone who says something like _that?_ If I didn't have the bigger picture in mind, I would have burned his tongue out myself."

That had been enough, at least, to get Mongke to agree to dispatch Yeh-Lu to see what he could find out in the city. Yeh-Lu already had a passport that looked legitimate at a glance, and had simply said to the guards that he was the _Hidden Gem_'s 'purchasing agent' going out to look for prospective cargo. Now he just had to find something useful in this sculpted sprawl of a city, but that wouldn't be much of a problem. Yeh-Lu and the Rough Rhinos had connections, after all, even in the heart of the Earth Kingdom. All the deserters who had survived in the colonies since the war ended shared a connection, and that wasn't a metaphor. He just had to find the proper signs.

As he walked and looked around for the desired clue, Yeh-Lu reflected that he couldn't say he liked Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring. Staring down some armed men who were eyeing him with more than casual interest, he thought (not for the first time) that anyone who fought to preserve this way of life over the comfortable existence the Fire Nation had offered in the colonies was insane. Sure, the mud-pups were perhaps not as well off as their Fire Nation betters, but they still lived more civilized existences than the people in this cesspool of a city.

Generally speaking, of course.

Finally, Yeh-Lu spotted what he was looking for. It was simply a stall on the side of the road where a vendor was selling spits of roast meat covered in sharp-smelling moruga sauce, but the two important things were that it was a bit of transplanted Fire Nation culture in the heart of the Earth Kingdom, and the big sign that listed the prices of the food also sported an innocuous, seemingly purely decorative sigil that didn't exist in any official alphabet. Confirming the symbol with one last glance, Yeh-Lu approached the cook and said, "White smoke."

The other man immediately shifted his eyes to make sure that no one was paying them any attention. Finally, he replied, "Black smoke."

"Wet wood."

"Coal." The cook licked his lips. "First time I met a stranger here who knew the code. It's a long way from the colonies."

Yeh-Lu was in no mood for pleasantries. "I need to speak the Dragon."

"Ash." The cook paled slightly. "What makes you think I can get you to _him?_ He's no deserter. How do you even _know_ about him?"

"I don't think _you_ can get me to him. But you know others of... our national persuasion, and if you think the Dragon isn't keeping tabs on you lot, then it's no wonder we lost the war. All you need to do pass the word to your friends about me. I'll be back later with a partner, and by then you'll have at least a message for us. Tell all your trustworthy friends- friends that share our background- that some old 'roughies' are town, and have heard of the Dragon's current troubles. It will work its way up and he'll figure out the rest."

Without even waiting for a reply, Yeh-Lu turned around and stalked back to the _Hidden Gem._ Sure enough, when he returned several hours later with Meisai in tow, the cook had a stack of papers that he handed over without a word before going back to hawking his roasts. In the bundle were travel permits for a one-time trip to the Upper Ring, and formal documentation for a business appointment with the manager of the Jasmine Dragon, a man named Mushi.

It was good to have friends, even for criminals and fugitives. Especially for criminals and fugitives.

* * *

Long Feng read the note from Ba Sing Se three times before he allowed himself to react. It hardly merited such attention, being so short, but he needed to internalize the full impact of the news. The coded letter had come by express hawk, and the contents had started with such grand promise. "Earth King confirmed dead," the first line read, and Long Feng had nodded with warm satisfaction. He had watched the monarch born under the name Kuei grow up, ruling Ba Sing Se in the boy's stead until he was of age, and then carefully ensconcing him away from any real news or influence after he was crowned. The boy was, frankly, a moron, and just like his father could not be trusted with the fate of a city like Ba Sing Se during the most trying times the world had ever known.

For all those years, Long Feng had bravely taken control of the greatest city in the world, doing things that changed him irrevocably for the worse, and then the world repaid him by making him a reviled fugitive. Yes, he took no pleasure in arranging the Earth King's death, but it was a necessary part of his grand plan, and he took satisfaction in it being a well-orchestrated act of justice and general benevolence. Soon, Long Feng would bring justice and benevolence to the rest of the world. It was a world sorely in need of a strong guiding hand, and that was well worth whatever sacrifices. _Whatever_ sacrifices. And if some of that justice was also the same thing as revenge against his enemies, well, Long Feng was a big believer in efficiency.

Then he read the second line of the note: "Azula escaped and unaccounted for."

And in that moment, Long Feng knew fear.

She should be _dead!_ She was the key to everything, and all of Long Feng's plans hinged on her bloody body being found at the scene of the Earth King's assassination. It should have been impossible, she should be his powerless pawn in both life and death, slain by her own hand, but somehow she had managed to defy his expectations once again.

Well, this is why the world needed people like Long Feng. Control and order were nice things, but you needed a capable mind with the right level of ruthlessness to deal with the messiness of life.

It was time to start exploring other options.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	19. Parallels and Perpendiculars, Part 2

**Parallels and Perpendiculars, Part 2**

Meisai kept her voice low as the Earthbender-powered train ushered them into the Upper Ring. "I just can't believe that General Iroh- the _Dragon of the West_- lives _here_. I always assumed that his nephew had him quietly stashed away somewhere like Ember Island."

Beside her, the quiet Rough Rhino called Yeh-Lu nodded. "He and the Fire Lord came here to escape Princess Azula after the debacle at the North Pole. They posed as tea-makers, and General Iroh's skill eventually won him a business up in the Upper Ring. The Princess tracked them down and arrested them when she conquered the city, but General Iroh escaped the Capital Prison on the Day of Black Sun. The Rough Rhinos were among the groups briefed on his recent history in case he came back to the Earth Kingdom. He slipped by us, of course, and liberated the city with the power of Sozin's Comet. We were too busy with all the Freedom Fighter rebellions to make a real job of hunting him down."

"No wonder Fire Lord Zuko was so quick to make peace." Meisai shook her head. "Sheltering the General was probably part of the deal. He sold us out."

Yeh-Lu shrugged. "I've never been one for politics."

They passed the rest of the trip in silence, and Meisai took the opportunity to look out at the Upper Ring as it passed below the train. It amazed her that such a place could survive the war more or less unscathed, especially since the Fire Nation had successfully conquered the place during the last months of the war, and one of the final battles of the conflict was fought in its streets. It just went to show, both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom must have valued it greatly, and now Ba Sing Se continued to thrive while the former colonies struggled against the parasitic cast-offs of both nations, and agents of both countries hunted down their once-loyal servants.

Yes, his murder was probably wrong, but Meisai would shed no tears for the Earth King.

The train eventually pulled into a station, and just as their written directions has promised, Meisai and Yeh-Lu found it a short walk from there to the Jasmine Dragon teashop. The cafe was fairly busy, filled with men and women in intricately decorated robes who chattered on about the subtle flavors in their teacups, but a hostess gave the two sailors immediate attention with a smile. "Table for two?"

Yeh-Lu flashed one of the papers that he had gotten from his street-kitchen contact. "We're here to meet with Proprietor Mushi about a business matter. He should be expecting us."

The hostess bowed. "Please come with me. A private room has been reserved for your meeting."

* * *

"The Rough Rhinos?" Azula swung the cloak her Uncle had given her over her shoulders. "Sounds familiar, but I don't recall meeting any such people."

"Perhaps Sokka told you about them. I understand that Avatar Aang and his friends encountered them at one point." Uncle Iroh's delivery was nonchalant, but Azula's stomach tightened in response. The last thing she wanted to be relying on were stories from the least trustworthy people she knew. (The first things she wanted was to get out of this city.) Uncle Iroh continued, "They tried to capture me and Zuko when we were fugitives from... well, you... but I haven't heard of them since then, aside from hearing that they deserted when Zuko took power. I don't know what they seek now, but the message said they know of my current 'troubles.' I'm sorry to say, but right now you're my biggest trouble."

"Yes." Azula flipped the cloak's hood up to cover her face. She couldn't have one of the Jasmine Dragon's innocent employees or patrons spotting her; they might force her to make a mess of her uncle's teashop, and it had so far been a very comfortable prison. "Let's go see what kind of trouble we might be in."

The room Uncle Iroh had set aside for the meeting was on the first floor, but he had done a good job arranging for his staff to be elsewhere as he and Azula made the short trip downstairs. Azula entered the room first, and as her uncle closed the door behind them, she set her gaze on the occupants and readied herself for a fight of words, if not actual combat.

And so she was taken completely by surprise when the first person she saw was Meisai of the _Hidden Gem._"You're alive!" She flicked her hood off and rushed over to her short-haired Firebending tutor, who was smiling at her reaction, but then Azula stopped short when she realized the implications of the other woman's presence here. "Wait, how did you find me? Did Long Feng-"

"Long Feng?" Meisai frowned at the name. "He was the one who kidnapped us? I don't know why, but his people let me and my father go. Dumped us near a village and got on with their lives, from what I can tell."

That didn't sound like Long Feng to Azula. He was the type who didn't like loose ends, as her formerly traitorous arm evidenced. "And how did you find me? Or, rather, how do you _think_ you found me?"

Meisai blinked with apparent confusion. "Long Feng was trying to get you to go to Ba Sing Se. I was there when you two were arguing about it, remember? After we were let go, Father and I sailed over here to try to help you. Yeh-Lu here knew about your uncle and figured he would be a good starting point for our search."

Yeh-Lu nodded. "General."

Uncle Iroh gave a short bow. "Tea?"

"Sure."

Azula kept her eyes on Meisai. "And you _remember_ everything? No blank spots, no odd compulsions to come and find me, no confusion about any of it?"

"No! I came because you lost that fight against Long Feng because of _us!_ I know what it's like to be-"

"In a difficult situation, yes, I remember," Azula cut the other off quickly. She glanced meaningfully over at her uncle, hoping that Meisai would take the hint that he was not to be fully trusted. Meisai stared for a moment, and then nodded, so Azula let herself relax a bit. For now, at least, it seemed that this wasn't another of Long Feng's traps, but a simply a friend who wanted to help her. "Thank you for coming." She walked over to Meisai and rested a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "You know who I really am? And you're aware of the current situation?" It was almost too much to hope for, that there was someone out in the war who didn't hate her on sight, but Meisai was _here_, and…

Yeh-Lu sat down at the room's only table and watched as Uncle Iroh poured him a cup of tea. "You mean how you assassinated the Earth King? Yeah, word has been getting around, just a bit."

Meisai's eyebrows rose. "Did you really do it? You regret Kyoshi Island, I could tell, but this..."

"I did it, but not by choice," Azula said. She realized she still hand her hand on the other woman, and reluctantly removed it. "That's what this man Long Feng does. He has ways of making people do what he wants, against their will. That's why I asked you those questions. When I came here, I couldn't remember anything, almost going back to when I got off the... what was it, the _Hidden Gem?_ I just knew I had to see the Earth King. And when I did, my body went ahead and killed him without my permission."

Meisai just stared, while Yeh-Lu laughed into his teacup and said, "Gee, I wonder if Fire Lord Zuko would believe that if I told him it's why I deserted. Not my fault, honest, my body did it on its own!"

Azula was all set to retort with something perfectly devastating when Uncle Iroh cleared his throat. "I can vouch for Azula's story. Long Feng's methods are well known to me, as well as any resident of this city from before the war ended, and I can confirm that this is all well within his abilities and desires. Too, I _saw_Azula in the grip of the brainwashing. That could not be faked."

Azula nodded her thanks. "So now, the only question is how I get out of the city so that I can go stop Long Feng once and for all."

"Niece-"

"_No_, Uncle!" She whirled on him, and felt her Inner Fire surge with the heat of her anger. She wanted to scream and insult him for his stubbornness, but a part of her recognized the damage that could do her cause and what relationship she had with him. She could use her anger to fuel her passion, her strength, but she had to remain in control. Surrendering to her impulses would be like surrendering to Long Feng's brainwashing all over again. She had to remember Meisai's teachings, all that time ago. "Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted." Taking a calming breath, Azula continued, "I know you think I can't be trusted to take care of this. I understand, and I admit that I have accumulated my share of failures since my return.

"But, Uncle, I need this chance, and the world needs me. The damage Long Feng has done in the colonies might never be repaired, and he's done it all using my face as a cover for it. Zuko isn't going to be able to calm people down. Long Feng might have made the situation worse, but the colonies are a mess because he didn't have the ability to find a future for them. If I surrender to him, I'll waste away in a cell until Long Feng finally gets his hands back on me, and the whole time Zuko and Aang and everyone will be futilely trying to fight my ghost."

Uncle Iroh shook his head. "I've heard your reasons, and as ever, you can twist logic to your ends. But if you give yourself over to revenge, if you act without a pure heart, you will hurt more than you save. I… just don't know how to trust you."

Azula motioned to Meisai and Yeh-Lu. "So trust _them! _Yes, I want revenge. But my first concern is making sure that he can't win, even in death. And to do that, I need to save the colonies from him. _That's_ my cause. I want to do for others what Meisai is doing for me. I don't know that girl you used to clash with, but as for _me_, I can learn. I _want_ to do better. I need to."

Uncle Iroh stared at her for an eternity. Finally, with the all the ponderous weight of an ancient dragon, he squared his shoulders and said, "You are not my niece."

"Uncle-"

"No, you're right. My niece was a cruel person. Yes, she might have had little choice in the matter, but she grew up into an enemy of life. You, on the other hand, apologize for your actions. You thank people for their kindness." He looked to where Meisai stood at rapt attention. "You have earned friendship, rather than servile fear." He looked back at Azula. "I am worried that you will give in to your darker instincts, as you have already. But you don't _want_ to, and that deserves a chance. It is the same chance I gave Zuko. I owe it to you, I suppose, to offer the same thing."

The burning in Azula's heart had settled into warmth that reached throughout her whole body. She bowed with respect to her uncle, and said, "Thank you. Had I not come to you, I would not have been able to save myself, or now find the friends who will help me get out of the city. Even if I fail, at least remember that it is because of you that there's even a chance." Then, giving in to an impulse, she walked over and gave her uncle a hug.

It was not a strong hug, nor a clumsy one, and Uncle Iroh's arms hugged her back with less than their full strength.

But it was a _nice_ hug.

When they parted, Azula looked over to Meisai and Yeh-Lu. "Now, we need a plan. What kind of security do we have to pass through to get to your ship?"

"There's the checkpoints between each of the city's Rings," Meisai said. "Then there are local guards on watch at the dock. They said they'd have to inspect all cargo we take on, and we were forbidden from accepting passengers."

Azula thought about that. "What kind of guards? Armored?"

"No, just the local City Watch. Uniforms, armed with dao blades."

Azula smiled. "I can accommodate that. Uncle..."

He was right with her. With a smile, he said, "I've been thinking that it's time the Jasmine Dragon exported some of its unique blends. I can have some crates ready to go within an hour, and it won't be hard for me to purchase more cargo besides. Will you need any materials or tools?"

"No, I know a very good choke hold."

Meisai was glancing back and forth between them before finally shrugging. "I have no idea what you two are talking about. They'll search the crates."

Yeh-Lu finished his tea and stood up. "Kid, that's the Dragon of the West and Princess _Azula_. Even if we don't get it, they have a good plan. For my part, I'm just waiting for the show."

* * *

The crates came from the Upper Ring, of course, and had all the proper paperwork to prove the business agreement between Citizen Mushi and Captain Toru of the _Hidden Gem_ (as represented and signed by his First Mate and Purchasing Agent). Another important point was that the Jasmine Dragon was all paid up on its taxes and bribes, so its continued financial success was known to be in the city's best interest. The crates were loaded onto one of the special trains designated for business cargo (runs three times a day, fees always reasonable) by employees of the Jasmine Dragon, and then ferried all the way to the Lower Ring.

The crates were not yet inspected, of course. Weapons were not allowed to be carried from the Lower Ring to the other two rings, but there was no restriction on what could be sent back 'downstream.' First Mate Meisai and Purchasing Agent Yeh-Lu had to show their documentation again, but no trouble resulted from that.

In the Lower Ring, Meisai hired some of the locals to carry the crates to the docks. She could have hired a cart or two, but that would have been more expensive. On the pier where the _Hidden Gem_ was moored, the crates were all spread out for inspection by the guards. The porters were all given another coin each to compensate them for the delay that left them standing around; that kept moods good, and no one noticed that there was one more porter than had been hired at the train station, but the auburn-haired young lady did nothing to draw attention to herself. The guards were surprised by the number of crates, but they had all the man-power they needed for this, so they spread everything out and conducted their searches all at once. It was a fairly chaotic atmosphere, with the porters milling around and talking, the various guards popping open crates and examining the contents- tea leaves carefully packed up, racks of tea bags, equipment for easy brewing of large amounts of strained tea, assorted spare parts for a steam engine, and other delights of Ba Sing Se.

One of the crates was fairly empty, containing only a single rack of tea bags and enough free space for a human body, but Meisai had simply shrugged at the guard who opened it and said something about "cheapskate Upper Ringers" that no one argued with. The tea bags were packed up again in another crate, and the original was broken down. Better safe than sorry, after all.

Throughout the process, the crew of the _Hidden Gem_ moved about and assisted where they could, unpacking some of the crate, and identifying their contents. With so many people moving about, it was easy to miss when one of the porters- the young lady with the auburn hair- wandered past one of the guards on the periphery of the group, and very suddenly grabbed him and wrapped an arm around his neck for a chokehold that cut off both air and bloodflow. She dragged him around a corner to another section of the docks with anyone seeing.

With all of cargo checked, the porters were allowed to bring the crates aboard, each one escorted by a guard. None of the porters, of course, had paid enough attention to note that one of the guards had spontaneously developed auburn hair. Once that was completed, the porters were each given another coin, and the guards all conducted one last inspection of the ship while their commander gave his goodbyes Captain Toru. "Well, that went relatively painlessly," he said. "Once again, we thank you for your cooperation. You are model of what we wish all visitors to Ba Sing Se could be, but usually aren't."

Toru just gave a small, almost sad smile. "That's unfortunate, sir."

* * *

_The Hidden Gem_ no longer had Ba Sing Se in sight when Azula emerged from the captain's cabin in her stolen guard uniform. She looked around the deck and noted, without surprise, that the Rough Rhinos had all paused in their work to stare at her. "Well, that worked out rather smoothly."

One of the Rhinos, a man with a feather in his topknot who Meisai had said was named Mongke, had an expression of undisguised surprise, like he had just found a weevil in his breakfast. "By the Agni Warrior, it_is_ you. I didn't quite believe it 'til now."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"Fah. I'm not making any problems." Mongke's face settled again into an easy scowl that seemed quite at home on his features. "Just do me a favor: if you get yourself caught by that idiot brother of yours, forget you ever saw me. The Rough Rhinos are going back to being a steamer crew soon enough."

Showtime. The whole time Azula had been lying in that empty crate, on the long trip from her uncle's teahouse to loading bay in the Lower Ring, she had been making plans and taking stock of her resources. An elite unit of former Fire Army warriors, owing no allegiance to the Fire Lord, was too valuable to let slip away. "And I suppose you're going back to a life of labor, then? A shadowy existence on the edge of society? How the mighty have fallen."

His eyes sharpened, and he took a step towards Azula. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Azula smiled and took her own step forward. "I'll be honest with you, Mongke. I have plans. I'm going after the person who turned me into an unwilling assassin, and to do that, I'm doing something that might benefit you. I'm hoping that I can count on the Rough Rhinos' support, since you're such a capable group of individuals. I need good people, good warriors from the Fire Nation, for my plans."

"What plans?"

Azula turned to face the ships wheel, where Toru and Meisai were stationed. "Meisai, what did I tell my uncle I was going to do?"

"Kill Long Feng and save the colonies."

"Precisely. Thank you." She glanced back to Mongke. "Specifically, I am going to unite the colonies under my rule, and turn them into the greatest nation on the planet. A mix of Earth and Fire, a haven for everyone who can't live in the old nations."

All the Rough Rhinos were staring again. Mongke practically had smoke coming out of his ears as he tried to process that, and managed to gasp out, "What?"

"Yes. I admit, it's not an original plan. In fact, it's exactly what the ex-Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se is trying to do, himself. But he's a smart man, and it's a good idea. I'm just going to steal his plan, turn the people's hearts against him and under my control, and then kill him as an example of what happens when people cross me. No longer will deserters from the Fire Nation have to hide and deny their heritage. No longer will people with Earth Kingdom in their blood have to worry about being exploited or robbed. I will oversee a new vision for the world, one that the Avatar and the Fire Lord won't be able to stand against. How could they, after they abandoned the colonies once already?"

Azula looked around, and saw that she had everyone's undivided attention. Time to seal the deal. "Mongke, I need the Rough Rhinos for this. Long Feng has a massive organization, and has been priming the colonies for this for _years_, but I know this man, and I know how he works. He's made a major mistake- he's already using me as a figurehead for his plan. With your help, we can strike strategically, make a show of strength that we don't yet have, and steal Long Feng's entire support structure out from under him. And, in return, you would be well rewarded." She crossed her arms over her chest, and added, "And you could leave any time. If things are going badly, I'll hardly be in a position to worry about you. If you'd rather go back to crewing your own ship, wasting away on the seas until a stupid young bounty hunter recognizes you in a filthy dockside tavern and gets a lucky shot in… well, that's your business. But I'm not going down quietly. I'm going out like a bonfire."

Azula summoned a torch of blue fire in each of her hands, and smiled dangerously at the Rough Rhinos. "Gentlemen, Princess Azula is back, and the world will soon know what that really means. Like the nation I'm going to build, I'm more than I once was. The time is now, to decide what you really believe in? Surviving... or _conquering?_" She could see it in their eyes: she had them.

Before Mongke could answer, Azula dismissed the flames and turned again to Meisai and her father. "I could use your help, too. I understand if you don't want to. You've already nearly lost everything, and done more than I ever could have hoped for, just to help me. No matter what, I will always... I mean, I hope it's okay, but I... I consider you a friend."

Meisai glanced at her Father, then looked back to Azula and nodded heavily. "I'd like to be your friend. And I don't care if they let us go, or paid our ship's docking fees while we were gone, those guys kidnapped me and held me in a cell where I couldn't see the sun. I'll see them stopped or dead. I only ever wanted to save the colonies. I'd be happy to do it at your side."

Azula barely heard her. Long Feng had arranged for the _Hidden Gem_'s docking fees? Why would he waste his time and resources with that? Then she looked over at Captain Toru, saw his uncomfortable expression, and her mind began listing and linking facts.

Toru had been there on Kyoshi Island when Ozai had found her.

He knew where and when she arrived in the colonies.

Long Feng and Shingyung had admitted that they laid out a net of contacts for Azula to stumble into, against all odds.

Toru and Meisai had been Long Feng's captives when Shingyung had brought her to the mountain base.

Toru and Meisai had been released unharmed, with their ship and way of life taken care of for them.

Toru was here now in Ba Sing Se, where Azula had been sent by Long Feng.

_Toru was working for Long Feng._

She didn't even have to work to come up with the conclusion; it was as plain as day when she looked dispassionately at the entire situation. There was no certain proof, but Azula's instincts were united on this point, and ever since she had emerged from her own mind with her body and memories once more under control, she was content to trust her instincts.

And if Toru really was a traitor, and she knew about it… that could be useful.

Putting that all aside for the moment, Azula smiled at Meisai and drew the other woman into a hug. "Thank you," she said. Then she stepped back and looked once more upon the Rough Rhinos.

They were bowing.

Mongke looked up, and gave her a smirk. "We are loyal servants, Your Highness. Surviving is something the Rough Rhinos are good at, but conquering is what we _do_. Let's see how these plans of yours work out, eh?"

Azula looked around at her new army, and nodded. "Yes. Let's see."

* * *

Shingyung swayed her way into Long Feng's office, and graced him with one of her hideously false smiles. "You wished to see us?" Dong Min shuffled into the room behind her, and as usual moved immediately to put as much distance between himself and the Waterbender as possible.

Long Feng silently slid the decoded copy of the note over his desk for the pair to see. Shingyung leaned right above it, while Dong Min edged up behind her. It didn't take either one of them long to read, of course, and Dong Min reacted first, stumbling backward until he came up against one of the stone walls. "She _survived?_"

Shingyung didn't move, but for once her posture and expression were completely and naturally blank. "Can we be sure of this? Our expert Mindbender's work has otherwise been so reliable."

Long Feng nodded. "This missive was the result of multiple independent sources confirming the news. Somehow, Azula defeated the programming we gave her and both survived and escaped the palace against all odds. We need to start trying to salvage as much of our plans as we can, and we'll have to move fast."

Shingyung brought her features back under control, looked over at where Dong Min was still being held up by the wall behind him, then turned back to Long Feng and tilted her head to the side. "Surely, we need not overreact, hm? She's still trapped in Ba Sing Se, and every day that she's not found just means that the locals are closing in on her. We call her 'Azula,' but as delicious and exquisite as she is, she's still just a pale shadow of what she used to be. You, of all people, should know that."

Long Feng shook his head look up at her. "I, of all people. And yet you question my opinion? Trust me, she'll get out. And _do_ stop trembling," he said to Dong Min. "Even if she defeated all our hypnosis, she still thinks you're dead. You're safe enough, and she'll never find this base without one of us to guide her."

Dong Min shook himself, and straightened up with some effort. "Yes, you're right. It's perfectly logical. But surely it would be better to just stop, now? If she gets the news to the Avatar or the Fire Lord..."

Shingyung gave a liquid shrug. "Very well. Let us plan for the worst, as the good Dong Min wants. We've already pulled all the duplicates back from their stations, but we haven't killed them yet. That was well planned. We can redeploy them in waves, if we need to, but they'll need new programming. We never expected another phase of action for them."

"True. We'll have to send one of our programmers." Long Feng stood up and stalked around to the front of his desk. "We'll also send out all new duplicates here that can pass well enough as Azula. Dong Min, you'll give them their orders, and then you'll have to go out into the field to handle the redeployment of the others."

"Me?"

"We have to have the duplicates at the top of their game. They need Azula's full flair, and a strong desire to spread the most severe pain and suffering as far across the colonies as they can, without any concern for their own lives. _And they must not allow themselves to be captured._ I'm not leaving this to chance now, I need the best on the job." Long Feng turned to look over at his long-time, not always willing partner. "You will, of course, have a full escort of guards. Your safety is important to me, after all."

Long Feng ignored the other man's groan and turned to find Shingyung regarding him with a raised eyebrow. She said, "And I suppose you want me to go work my magic and spread your gold to our allies? That would be the natural consequence of accelerating our plans, yes?"

Long Feng nodded. "We're pushing forward into the endgame." Long Feng clasped his hands behind his back and paced around the room. "If Azula defeated our programming, then she likely knows that I'm involved. It's time to call in our allies, and either bully them or buy them into assembling the conclave. But _I'll_ handle that part, and then head straight for Yu Dao with the first of the Governors. The Avatar and the Fire Lord will have to put in an appearance, once they receive our invitations, but I want them as distracted as possible, hence the need for the duplicates. However, I have another job for you."

Shingyung motioned for him to continue, and so Long Feng said, "We need Azula dead as soon as possible. I don't care if we have a body, so long as we know she's dead. We can always produce the corpse of one of the duplicates. Your job is to go out and kill the Fire Princess."

Shingyung gave a little laugh. "Aha, here I thought I was getting a job, but really you give me a treat! Holding her corpse will be a fulfillment I have long awaited. But how am I to find our exquisite little toy? Shall I go to Ba Sing Se? Or await her in Yu Dao?"

Long Feng spun to face her. "No! She's to get nowhere near that city! You can use the shirshu we have in the stable cavern and get on Azula's trail directly. We _need_ her dead, Shingyung. Find something with her scent, and sniff her out. Kill her. You're one of the only people I can trust to make that happen. Do you understand?"

She gave a snort and shifted her hips. "The shirshu? Ugh, what a foul-tempered monstrosity. He snaps whenever I go near him. Perhaps he recognizes me as his master's killer? Regardless, I'll do my best to catch up to Azula-"

"_No!_ No talk of 'your best,' or trying to do anything." The walls rattled with the force of his voice. "_Her death is the most necessary part of the entire plan!_ You _will_ find her, and you _will_ kill her." Long Feng resisted the urge to start flinging around threats. He would not start insulting a valuable ally. But why didn't Shingyung realize what they were dealing with?

The Waterbender blinked at him repeatedly, and then dipped into a low bow. "It will be as you say, then. I will hunt Azula down, and end the threat she represents to the balance of you and our plans." She twirled and slunk out of the room, and Dong Min followed after her.

Long Feng gave a heavy sigh. The final gamble for the fate of the world was about to begin.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	20. Interlude the Third

**Interlude the Third**

_The Past_

_He could almost forget himself, with just the two of them together like this, and that was becoming less and less of a problem with each passing day._

_Sokka held the fishing pole out and, with a practiced flick, cast the line out into the Kyoshi waters. The setting sun glistened on the bay, and the air was still warm on his bare arms. "You don't want to be moving your shoulder; you want everything to be done with the elbow and wrist." The woman beside him flicked her own pole, but the hook sailed straight downward and bounced off the rocks just a few handspans from her feet. "No, see, you took your finger off the line too late." Sokka held his own pole out so that the way he gripped it would be more visible, and wiggled his pointer finger. "And if you do it too early, it will just fly straight up into the air. You want to time it just right so that it goes flying out."_

_"That's not very specific- 'just right.' Of course doing it right will work." Her voice was light, and as she tugged her line back into place, she looked over to Sokka with a playful glint in her eye. "Any other helpful advice?"_

_Sokka found himself grinning. "Here, I may as well show you." He had taught this kind of thing before, although his sister had mainly been looking for an excuse to use her Waterbending instead of a fishing pole (although it had gone on to take several years before she managed to get that to work), and the kids in the Tribe had all preferred to spend their time in snowball fights. Deciding that a new teaching style might just be in order, Sokka put his pole down and walked over to his student. He took a position standing right behind her, snaking his arm over her shoulder to grasp the fishing people above her hand._

_She leaned into his body, and it was nothing but comfortable. This was probably why the Kyoshi Warriors didn't usually teach men. One could almost believe that Sokka had done it on purpose. "Now," he said with a voice that he tried to make manly without it sounding like he was trying to make it manly, "let me keep my finger on the line, and you just keep your finger on my knuckle so that you can feel when I let go. That should work, right? Kind of like overlapping tiles on a fancy Fire Nation roof, except with fingers." Too late, he realized that mentioning the Fire Nation might not have been the best idea, and there were the same kind of roofs in the Earth Kingdom anyway, but his student didn't react. She just moved her finger over his hand as instructed._

_Her body was very warm._

_They cast together the line out together, and this time, the hook went sailing out over the water like a comet of fire. "There you go! Now see if you can do it on your own."_

_And, of course, she did. "Yes," she hissed. "Perfect!"_

_Sokka's own grin widened. "Nice! We'll make you Water Tribe in no time."_

_She turned to look at him and arched an eyebrow. "Was that a proposal? I never thought it would be on the old fishing bluff. I'm not sure if my parents would have been thrilled or horrified."_

_Sokka's grin immediately imploded, and his stomach caved in like a badgermole was rampaging around inside. He couldn't even begin to think up a response- couldn't figure out what he wanted the gist of his response to even be- before she decided to take mercy on him and gave him a soft pat on the cheek. "Calm down," she said, "I was just joking. I guess it's true what they say about men and commitment. I never like making assumptions about boys just because they're boys, but..." She trailed off and gave a little wink, then went back to reeling in her line._

_Sokka let out a heavy breath, and then reached for his own fishing pole._

_He stopped when he realized that his hands were shaking._

_Standing up again, he said, "Let's pack it in for now. The boats are starting to come in to the docks, so this must be the wrong time to get any bites. Besides, we don't have bait. You can practice your casting some more when there's some actual fish to go after."_

_She nodded, and began de-stringing her pole with sureness and efficiency. She had taken well to the day's lessons, but for the first time, Sokka wondered why. Was it her, or was it because of what she was going through right now? Sokka resolved to never ask; even knowing if it was possible to tell would only be counter-productive. And creepy._

_"...really like a good fish fry," she was saying as they walked back from the bluff. "Maybe tomorrow we can get some lemon and if we catch anything we can..."_

_Sokka let her talk, nodding as appropriate, and kept a surreptitious eye on her. As they neared their destination, she grew quieter, moved slower, and even blinked less. By the time they reached Suki's Home- the compound- she was moving like one of the Fire Nation's mechanical contraptions, motion without life._

_Dong Min was waiting for them. Sokka loitered outside while the Mindbender got 'Suki' settled within._

_When Dong Min finally returned, the sky was almost fully dark. It was a cloudy night, hiding the gaze of the Moon, and Sokka could barely make out the older man in the light spilling through the windows of Suki's Home. Dong Min hesitated right outside the door and said, "Are you confirmed for leaving tomorrow?"_

_Sokka rubbed the heel of his boot against the dirt path and nodded. "Aang really wants me to come with him. This former Fire Army guy captured himself one of the colonies and will only surrender it if he gets a guaranteed happy retirement back in the Fire Nation on his own island. Aang would like me on hand to help with talking to everyone and keeping them calm, and if that doesn't work to help with the head-bashing. I don't know how much good I can really do, but..." He trailed off and finished with a shrug. He didn't care if it could be seen in the darkness or not._

_"Little Ty Lee and I will make do until you return." After a moment, Dong Min added, "Unless you won't be returning." Sokka said nothing, and Dong Min took a deep breath. "There was an incident today, I presume."_

_And with that, the floodgates inside Sokka broke apart like an angry Waterbender was taking a temper tantrum. "Enough with the incidents! Let's just admit that she's totally into me!" Sokka let his arms drop heavily to his sides. "And yeah, I really like her, too. I don't even know how it happened. I just wanted to help her, and you know how she likes to hug people and hold their hands and stuff, so I just figured that a quick kiss was the same thing! And she just turned out to be so smart and nice and- and stuff! And I didn't even think about anything until I realized she thinks we're in love."_

_Dong Min's lack of response nearly enabled him to fade into the night air. Sokka kept waiting for the guy to ask the obvious question, but the former Mindbender of Ba Sing Se never pushed when he didn't have to. Sokka could easily see how the man had once been one of Ba Sing Se's most talented therapists before the Dai Li found him. Sighing, Sokka finally admitted, "Suki knows we're both in love."_

_Finally, Dong Min's voice sounded in the night air. "I do not feel that things are as dire as your tone paints them. Your feelings are as natural as a child who feels affection for a wounded sparrowkeet." The comparison got Sokka's teeth grinding, but as much as it felt inaccurate, he didn't feel like he could make a stand on metaphorical ice this metaphorically slippery. "Your mutual attraction has even helped the patient sink more deeply into the Suki identity. Of all the transitions I have overseen, this one has been the least stressful on the patient. But if you don't intend for this to continue, I need to work up a regime to accommodate that, and soon, since we are set to enter the final phase. I can erase this little comedy, and by the time she is ready to live as her own person, you'll never have been anything more than a friend and old ally."_

_Sokka turned his gaze upward, looking for the moon, but couldn't find even a hint of its light from behind the clouds. "You can really accomplish that? Just make it go completely away without hurting Suki?"_

_"Suki is nothing more than a construct, and I know that construct like you know your own mechanical inventions. Her mind and heart are mine to define. What is your decision?"_

_Sokka knew that he should. He knew it. He knew that the right thing to do would be to open his mouth, and say something that approximately came out to, "Yes," with the usual allowances for emotion-shielding wit and humor._

_Instead, he said nothing._

_Eventually, Dong Min spoke again in the night air. "Let me know before you leave tomorrow." And then he went inside to give Suki another one of her 'sessions.'_

_To make another step towards erasing Azula forever, and leave Suki in her place._

* * *

The Present

The descent of the _Appa_-class airship, Zuko's _Fang_, was smooth, and Sokka knew he should be pleased by it. After all, it had taken a full week of work at the Northern Air Temple- with the continued help of its famous Mechanist- to come up with a device that would lower the craft without releasing any of the explosive Rising Gas contained within its balloons, all small enough to fit on this more diminutive frame without unbalancing it. The thrill of that accomplishment was long in the past, though, and now Sokka couldn't push his thoughts past the reason for this trip, and the unfinished business he still had hanging over his head.

He looked out the window of the passenger compartment, and saw the sprawling city of Ba Sing Se rising up to meet him. Usually, the white stone of the Upper Ring positively glowed when viewed from above- by airship, magic flying bison, or whatever- but today a field of gray clouds extended like a horizontal wall between the sun and the land below. Ba Sing Se had a dourer, lethargic appearance without its usual shining heart, and Sokka could definitely relate. Of course, that was a very handy metaphor, what with the Earth King have been assassinated and all. Sokka turned to one of the compartment's other two occupants and said, "I forgot to ask before. Did you ever find out where this new guy came from?"

Zuko gave a heavy nod. "Long Feng did a... thorough job of purging Kuei's family after he was crowned, but someone was faster than him."

On the other side of the cabin, pressing her own face against the window opposite Sokka's, Ty Lee said, "Why would he want to kill the Earth King- er, the old Earth King's family?"

Zuko turned his head to keep his scar in the cabin's shadows, but from Sokka's vantage point it was a futile attempt. With closed eyes, the Fire Lord said, "Even if no one could counter Long Feng's influence over Kuei, there's still plenty of danger to Royal families. Kuei's father was so poorly regarded that he was assassinated by his own Council of Five, and Long Feng used that as an excuse to both seize power and make everyone who could possibly be a threat to Kuei disappear." Zuko hesitated for a moment before continuing. "The new King's mother was a cousin to Kuei's father, and supposedly a bit paranoid, so when the Dai Li made their initial play for more power in the name of saving the city, she arranged to have her son sent to Gaoling on an extended vacation. Long Feng's purge began shortly after that. Ba Sing Se was always a bit closed off from the rest of the world during the war, but that's also when Long Feng began locking it down and keeping all news from the outside completely suppressed. After his mother suffered an accident, it became clear to everyone with an interest that staying out of the city was the best course for the child."

"And now he's back," Sokka said. "The return of the King. How'd you find all that out so quickly?" He turned back to the window and looked down once more at the city. Sokka could make out the Jasmine Dragon now, and the vector of the airship's descent was very clearly meant to terminate in the place's backyard. From here, he could also make out a fuzzy white blob, with the shadow of an arrow running down its body, moving around on the Jasmine Dragon's side porch. Aang had beaten them here, then.

When Sokka glanced over at Zuko again, there was the beginning of a smile tugging one side of Zuko's lips. "Mai took charge of it. She's taken to reading my Intelligence reports for entertainment, and before I could even ask, she sent out calls for more information on the new King. It turned out that her parents had some Earth Kingdom connections that helped. If she keeps this up, I might get her an official office in the Intelligence Ministry."

Sokka nodded with appreciation, and resolved to make better friends with Mai the next time he was in the Fire Nation. Zuko shared all of his Intelligence info, of course, but it certainly couldn't hurt to have a direct line on the source. Keeping his voice even, Sokka said, "And was Mai the one who learned that S- Azula is the suspected assassin?"

"No. The invitation I received made a point of informing me of that directly and very clearly."

With that, the airship gave a shudder as it settled on the ground, and various steering and propulsion fans began winding down. Ty Lee was the first on her feet, but she smiled and motioned for Zuko to disembark first. She fell in behind him, but as she walked, she turned her head and whispered to Sokka, "You don't really think Azula did it, do you?"

Zuko glanced back at both of them as they all passed out of the airship. Of course he could hear. For his own part, Sokka gave a shrug into which he put every bit of the invisible weight on his shoulders. "I don't know. I _want_ to think that this was just one of those... like the woman with the weird skull. A fake Azula. Imposter. Whatever. But that doesn't fit."

"How doesn't it fit? They make Azula look like the villain!" Ty Lee bobbed her head from side to side. Her hair was long enough now to sway with the motion, but Sokka remembered a time when that same movement would have sent a long braid swaying.

"Yeah, but why bother? Everyone already wants her captured or- everyone was already looking for her. It's redundant. And that's a lot of effort to go through for nothing new. But don't worry, whatever happened here, I'm sure there's a good explanation. And as awful as this all is..." Sokka looked up, scanning the unbroken field of clouds above, and thought he spotted a place where a light was trying to break through to the lands below. "We have a better idea of the shape. Hopefully, the new Earth King will be able to provide some more of that shape for me. And once we figure out the full shape, we can fill in the details and use that to stay one step ahead of the Invisible Hand."

"I can help you with that," a welcome voice sounded. By now, they were halfway across the Jasmine Dragon's yard- the Meditation Garden, as it was called by its owner and caretaker- and Sokka returned his gaze to his path to find the man in question approaching. Iroh gave a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and said, "It is good that you came here before meeting the new Earth King. I have _very_ important news. Avatar Aang is waiting for us inside. Everyone needs to hear this."

Zuko's pace picked up immediately. "What kind of news, Uncle? Is this about Kuei's murder, or Azula?"

Iroh glanced around him, and then leaned towards his nephew. Sokka leaned in himself to order to hear Iroh's whisper: "Both. Azula was here, and she discovered what's been going on."

Sokka, of course, immediately tripped over his own feet, and only Ty Lee's quick thinking saved him from a face-full of Meditation Garden.

* * *

_The Past_

_Sokka was jumping off the boat while it was still far away enough to make his landing on the docks a risky proposition. He managed to land with most of both of his feet on the sturdy planks, and while he didn't quite maintain his balance after he set down, windmilling his arms at Momo-class speeds managed to give him the airlift to stay upright. Having worked that all out with unusual success, Sokka was off at a run to the center of Kyoshi Island._

_He had to see if Suki still remembered._

_His dash through the fishing village quick enough to make it nothing more than a passing blur, although he heard some giggling children that he was pretty sure were getting their amusement from him. He ran along the dirt path, barely letting the uphill bend slow him down. He had been longer than expected in the colonies, helping Aang and ensuring world peace and stuff, and he couldn't stop himself from worrying that already he was nothing more than a fuzzy memory to Suki. After all, he had kind of maybe neglected to give Dong Min an answer before he left..._

_He justified it to himself- in between helping Aang avert another little war- by saying that he was leaving it in the hands of Destiny. (Not that he was ever really big on Destiny.) If, by the time he got back to Kyoshi Island, Dong Min had already turned off Suki's attraction to him, then he would forget all about it and go back to living his life out in the world. It was the only way he could make himself try to do the right thing._

_The green foliage whipped past Sokka as he ran, but there was an extra flash of dark green with what seemed like gold highlights, and he distinctly heard Ty Lee's voice crying out, "Go, go, go!"_

_Good ol' Ty Lee. Sokka couldn't tell if she was rooting for him or just playing what she thought was a game._

_Suki's Home approached rapidly in Sokka's vision, and he finally allowed himself to slow down. That was easier attempted than accomplished, and Sokka's deceleration wound up being accomplished by falling forward and skidding to a stop with his shirt and face scraping along the dirt path. He didn't even let that stop him. He just hopped to his feet, and began to move towards the compound's door-_

_-and found Suki standing right in front of him in her full Kyoshi Warrior regalia._

_"Sokka!"_

_He looked- truly looked- at her painted face, and his heart melted at the bright smile, at the longing in her eyes. He glanced quickly over her shoulder, and saw Dong Min hovering in the compound's doorway. The old man grinned and shrugged; he must be a romantic at heart._

_Sokka silently thanked Destiny for this, and leaned forward to give Suki the kiss he wanted to give her for so long, the kiss she had earned over these last months._

_The Kiss of Destiny._

* * *

The Present

Sokka's mind was still racing from Iroh's revelations when it was time for the appointment with the Earth Kingdom's newest monarch.

The impression that Sokka always had of the Earth King's throne room was _Big_. Big empty space, big columns, big golden badgermole statue, big silk curtains, big fancy lanterns, and a big budget for all the paints and panels and gold trim that made a big impression on anyone who didn't see it all every day. The recently crowned 53rd Earth King looked reassuring small sitting on his throne at the base of the statue. "Avatar Aang. Fire Lord Zuko. Sokka Water Tribe," The new Earth King intoned, rising from his throne. "It is my pleasure to receive you for the first of what I hope will be many friendly visits."

The trio of visitors all bowed, and then Aang took another step forward to speak for the group. "It is our pleasure and honor to be here. We're sorry for the circumstances that have made you the 53rd Earth King of Ba Sing Se, but of course you have our hopes for a long and peaceful reign. And we hope we can consider you a friend!"

"Thank you, Avatar Aang." The new Earth King stepped from the platform that sat at the feet of the giant gold badgermole statue and began the walk across the room to his guests, allowing Sokka to get a good look at the man for the first time. There was a slight resemblance to Kuei, enhanced by the fact that he seemed to be wearing robes that could have come right out of Kuei's wardrobe, but the new Earth King was more solid in his build, and his face didn't have that same softness that Kuei had retained even after his wartime travels. It was a very appropriate look, considering his next statement. "Sadly, it seems that my first responsibility is to force the world into a more peaceful state, so soon after the end of the Great War. To that end, when do you expect to be able to hand the Fire Princess over to me? It is too late to make her execution my first Royal Command, but I can't let myself become so concerned with symbolic gestures that my rule suffers for it, eh?"

Sokka, Zuko, and Aang all traded glances, and silently decided that Zuko would handle that one. Stepping forward, Zuko inclined his head and said, "I don't know if you're up to date, Your Majesty, but the manhunt for my sister is still ongoing. The last lead we had on her was in the colonies, when the bounty hunter I personally contracted to bring her in was found dead. We're still investigating if Azula had anything to do with that."

"Indeed? Then it seems that you are the ones in need of news." The Earth King clasped his hands behind his back and kept up his slow trip towards his guests. "Perhaps you haven't heard, but the 52nd Earth King died recently. Quite a few guards who were on duty that night swore by the First Mud that the assassin was a Firebender, and that her flames were blue. As such, the Princess Azula is wanted for the murder. I intend to put her to death for a huge audience; perhaps an outdoor venue. Could it be that you've heard some rumors of this?"

Sokka resisted the urge to shake his head at Zuko. He knew- he _knew_ that Zuko wanted to keep playing dumb, but Earth King wasn't exactly being subtle about how he felt about that. Fortunately, Aang chose that moment to interject again. "Actually, Your Earthiness, we _do_ have some information for you about all of this. Sokka, how about you go over it all for us?" Aang glanced back over at him with a big smile. "You've been researching everything a lot more intensely than the rest of us. I bet you've figured out twice as much as me and Zuko."

Sokka smiled back with gratitude. "Thank you, Aang. I'll do my best, but-" he looked over at the Earth King- "a lot of this is going to sound really weird."

The Earth King finally came to a halt an arm's length from the rest of the group, and nodded at Sokka. "Within the last week, I went from being a forgotten expatriate of Ba Sing Se to the Monarch of the entire Earth Kingdom. I'm willing to stretch my imagination."

"Fair enough." Sokka cleared his throat. "One of our agents- we can't tell you who, for reasons that will be pretty obvious in a second, but this person is very reliable- anyway, this agent has been in contact with Azula. She's given her side of the story, and it matches up with information I've been collecting independently. Where to begin? All right, you know all those troubles we've been having in the colonies? Kuei's murder was a part of that bigger picture, and we were in regular contact with him about all it. An 'Invisible Hand' has been affecting things in a way that looks like the world's longest string of bad luck; believe me, I know bad luck, and even for me it takes a break every now and then. This mastermind lured Azula into a trap and brainwashed her into assassinating Kuei. The one who's really responsible is a jerk named Long Feng."

The Earth King stood a little taller at that, and his voice went down an octave to take on a scarily deep quality. "One might think speaking that name is meant to distract me from the Fire Princess. I'm sure Fire Lord Zuko knows how tempting a chance to avenge a mother would be."

Zuko's fists rose, but Aang was quick to step in front of him and say, "Actually, we're not sure where Zuko's mother is and we think she's alive, but that's something separate."

Sokka took up the thread with, "This actually fits with everything I've been looking at for the past... well, since the war ended. There's all the bandits, rebels, and fighting in the colonies. _Someone_ broke ex-Fire Lord Ozai free and sent him Azula's way on Kyoshi Island. After that, I discovered that Dong Min- yeah, you know that name, too- was kidnapped from a home it took me a month and all my resources across the world to find. Our agent has passed on Azula's account of how she was lured into Long Feng's base and brainwashed Dai Li-style to come here and do the man's dirty work for him. And I've been tripping over evidence that our Invisible Hand has something of an Azula obsession. Zuko has custody of the body of a woman whose skull was altered in some way, and she has a strangely strong resemblance to Azula." Sokka couldn't help but think that Long Feng wasn't the only one with a fixation on Azula, but wisely chose not to say that. "If Long Feng is our Invisible Hand, it all adds up."

The Earth King was very quiet as began his slow walk again, this time in a loose circle that let him gaze over his vast throne room. His eyes traveled over the columns, the paneled walls, the sculptures, and all the other decorations that stood as a symbol of the undying wealth of the Earth Kingdom. Sokka waited patiently for the King to finish and hoped that Zuko wouldn't explode.

Finally, the Earth King spoke. "You said that you couldn't name your agent. You think Long Feng has corrupted this palace, and naming your agent would be a risk? And if Long Feng freed Ozai, his reach extends to the Fire Nation as well. This is quite a bit to believe of a man who was last seen playing toady to Azula and was forced to flee into the wilderness when she betrayed him."

Aang nodded. "Yeah, but most of the Dai Li just disappeared by the end of the war. The agents Azula brought to the Fire Nation were never heard from again after she banished them, and when the White Lotus was freeing Ba Sing Se, a lot of the Dai Li here ran away. We were lucky they didn't destroy anything when they left, but Long Feng himself and his personal library both vanished without a clue. It would have been hard, but he could have had enough to rebuild."

"Yes, I suppose you speak truth, Avatar Aang." The Earth King shrugged. "And in any event, I know who your agent is. I considered having General Iroh arrested for helping Azula escape, but I thought it would get us off on the wrong foot."

Zuko immediately pushed past Sokka and raised a finger at the Earth King, growling, "You will _not_ make one move against my Uncle or I will-"

That's when Sokka and Aang caught Zuko's shoulders and stopped him from doing anything that would plunge the entire world back into a century-long war.

The Earth King regarded it all calmly. "Come, now. A ship visits Ba Sing Se's port for a single day, and after it leaves one of the soldiers is found unconscious and stripped of his uniform? And that ship just happened to be carrying cargo it bought from the Jasmine Dragon? If the City Watch didn't have to scrounge up and hire some kind of ship whenever it needs to perform its duties on the water, they would have pursued as soon as they figured it out. As it is, the ship- named _The Hidden Gem_, in case Iroh didn't tell you- got away before a response could be mustered. Iroh's involvement was obvious, though. It was the first matter brought to my attention after I was crowned."

Zuko was still glaring at the King. "That doesn't say what you intend to do."

"Ah, arresting Iroh would likely be too much trouble." The Earth King waved a hand and turned away from Zuko. "He is hereby under house arrest, and cannot leave the Upper Ring under pain of death, though. For now, he can serve as my hostage, in a manner. If the situation ends agreeably, he can continue his life as Mushi, after a stern warning about what Ba Sing Se expects of its special guests."

Zuko spoke the question that immediately popped into Sokka's mind as well: "And how would we able to end things agreeably?"

"The search for the Princess Azula will be entirely turned over to the Earth Kingdom. We will be allowed to send as many soldiers into the colonies as necessary to apprehend her. And we will execute her publicly with the Fire Lord and the Avatar's approval."

Aang and Zuko were about to object, but Sokka held out a hand to silence them. When they settled down, Sokka let go of Zuko, stepped up to the Earth King, and smiled. "Thank you for opening up negotiations. Now, what concessions will you give us for finding Long Feng for you and turning _him_ over for execution? I'm the only one with any idea how to hunt him, right now."

The Earth King actually smiled back at him. "I never said I believed your wild story about Long Feng's global conspiracy."

"Doesn't matter. Long Feng's crimes are at least as bad as Azula's. Even if he wasn't responsible, he's still a criminal who Ba Sing Se would love to see receive justice. Plus, you were the one who brought up what he did to your mother. And once we have him, we can prove that he used Azula as his tool to get Kuei. What'll you give us for him?"

"What do you want?"

Sokka turned and motioned to Aang and Zuko. They both considered, and Aang eventually said, "You can't invade the colonies. We would appreciate your cooperation in looking for Azula, and we might have to work together soon to bring peace over there, but sending in your armies will just start a war with the people who live there."

"And," Zuko practically grunted, "we wouldn't want any borders accidentally shifting with your armies crawling all over the place."

Sokka held back a sigh. He would have liked to try to get the Earth King off the hunt for Azula completely, since his soldiers would have been the least likely to try to treat Azula well, but that was probably a lost cause.

The Earth King nodded his agreement. "Fine, with one exception. I want leave for a _limited_ operation. I want to let the full fury of the Earth Kingdom to fall on Long Feng's base, even if it's not still in use. You can provide the location?"

"The Chubang Mountains. We can provide some vague directions. Azula didn't know the precise location."

"That will be good enough. We are more than capable of rooting out a hidden sanctuary in a mountain. Regarding the other major matter, I must still demand that the Fire Princess _will_ be turned over to me. My people are howling for her blood, and if I don't deliver, my position will be weakened." Sokka started to open his mouth, but the Earth King immediately cut him off with, "This is _not_ negotiable. Iroh chose to let her escape once already, and it was her hand that ended the life of the 52nd Earth King." He paused, and gave a small sigh. "However, I can agree to merely imprison her until a trial can be conducted, and I will wait to see if you can produce Long Feng or proof of his involvement. And the trial will be conducted by a tribunal, one from Ba Sing Se, one from the Fire Nation, and one from... oh, let's say Kyoshi Island. It will be a trial of Azula's full crimes against the world. This scheme to give her a new identity was a failure, and it's time to do what should have been done in the first place."

The three young men all traded looks and Sokka could immediately see that he was the minority opinion here. Aang didn't really want to agree with the Earth King, but he would because that would preserve world peace, and the King's request was reasonable. Zuko likewise had misgivings, but he had already resigned himself to the fact that Azula couldn't be saved, and by agreeing he would save Iroh. Sokka knew he would be overruled, but as usual, he had a plan in place. Nodding with a conviction he didn't really feel, he turned back to the Earth King and said, "Agreed."

"Excellent. I will have my scribe draw up the agreement for you signatures. Not that I don't trust you, but this will help to placate everyone who thinks they can tell their new outsider Earth King what to do. Is there anything I can provide to help resolve things quickly?"

"Actually, yes," Sokka said. "Zuko sent a note on my behalf to Kuei, asking if he could put together some research material for me-"

"Ah, I saw that letter." The Earth King gave a wry smile. "Very prescient of you, Sokka Water Tribe, considering what Iroh must have only just passed along. Ah, but you said Dong Min went missing. Of course you would suspect the Dai Li. In any event, we've been understandably busy, but I will order those materials assembled for you immediately, and you will have unlimited access for as long as you desire. Anything else?"

"No, but we should all be ready for Long Feng's next move." Sokka passed his gaze over the others and put all his confidence into his voice, plus a little extra that he didn't really have but liked to pretend he did sometimes. "I have the shape of his plan now. He wants to unite the colonies as his own new nation. He's been using the Azula imposters to create more trouble and chaos, and now he's had Kuei assassinated. That's the signal for the next phase of his plan. He'll use that as an excuse to push for the colonies to be made into their own country. I don't know what direction it will come from, but soon you'll all be getting news of some kind. Maybe a group of colonists will petition Aang, or some of the governors will send letters floating the idea. You have to decide what you want to do about it, and come up with a way to make sure Long Feng can't use the situation to his advantage. I have my research to do, and then I'll be on the hunt, so don't count on my help. Of course, it would be nice if I could catch him and Azula before it becomes a problem, but..."

He trailed off, and everyone nodded their understanding. "Don't worry, Sokka," Aang said, "we'll be ready. For now, you'n'me'n'Zuko should make some plans, and then we'll start meeting with the Earth King tomorrow to figure the big stuff out."

"Agreed," the Earth King said. With that, he walked quickly back to his throne and sank into it with a heavy slump. "Hoo. That was _exhausting_. And I still have three more appointments today. You are tiring, Sokka Water Tribe, but I look forward to working with you for many years to come."

Sokka bowed alongside his friends, and offered a polite smile. "I'm just helping Zuko and Aang out today. I don't always speak for them like this. In fact, this might be the last time."

The Earth King gave a smile that had no humor in it whatsoever. "You think so, do you? Well, you're young, yet. Perhaps you don't see it. This new world order you and your friends have created? It won't let people like you and me stand on the sidelines. Look at what happened to me. Look how you've been pulled into this matter."

"Who are the people like you and me?"

"Ah, the people whose heads are filled with gears and cogs and spinning wheels. For better or for worse, we're the ones who guide the hand of fate for the next era. Let us hope that the world we create doesn't malfunction on us."

* * *

_The Past_

_"So what's next for you? Are you going to meet up with Dad?" Katara's question was casual, but tinged with weariness from the activities of the last few days._

_The whole group was gathered next to the river, loading up Appa for the long journey back to everyone's respective homes. Sokka looked back over the former Fire Nation colony they had just saved from some kind of 'Sword of the Agni Warrior' cult, at the smoke that hung over the port settlement despite the fires having all been extinguished, and held back a sigh. He turned to his sister and said, "Actually, I'm going to make a stop on Kyoshi Island-"_

_And just like the situation they had all just resolved, the worst case scenario suddenly exploded in an unnervingly quiet manner around Sokka. Everyone in the group came to a sudden halt in their actions, and their eyes sought him out with lights ranging from accusatory to horrified. Katara, of course, was the first to break the silence._

_"Again," she hissed._

_"I thought you said Dong Min had already left," Aang said._

_"I bet he's sweet on Azula," chuckled Toph._

_"Ty Lee is enough to handle things. Any more contact would be risky," Zuko growled._

_Katara crossed her arms and threw in, "What do you even think you're doing there?"_

_Zuko began, "This better not-"_

_"Hey, hey, hey," Sokka finally broke in. "Enough! I'm not- I'm not, like, doing anything dangerous. I'm just- just visiting a friend. We spent a lot of time together, and she's actually learning how to tell good puns, and I thought I'd... yeah..."_

_The probing intensity never left their eyes. In the back of the group, Toph shook her head._

_"All right, all right, I won't go to Kyoshi Island." Sokka shrugged with just one shoulder, like this wasn't one of the most important matters in his life right now, and grabbed a pack of food to load onto Appa. "Drop me off with Dad." Everyone finally turned their attention back to their own preparations, while Sokka began silently figuring how long it would take him to get to Kyoshi Island in a Water Tribe fishing vessel._

* * *

The Present

"A convocation in Yu Dao," Zuko said to his friends in the main dining room of the Jasmine Dragon. "Governors, colonists of 'significant influence,' and a representation of the common people will all be there to 'demand recognition of the former Fire Nation colonies as a unified nation deserving of the right to govern and defend itself.' Sokka was spot on."

Sokka himself looked around to see if anyone was going to make a big deal out of that, but everyone- Aang, Katara, Zuko, Iroh, and Ty Lee- were all too busy cramming around the twin letters that had come for the Avatar and the Fire Lord today, just a week after his prediction. No doubt the new Earth King was reading his own copy right now. Well, that was okay, he wasn't entirely thrilled about this prediction coming true.

Katara was the first to look up. "It doesn't say anything about Long Feng."

"No," Aang said, "but he's behind it. Just like with Jet and the news about Appa. He likes to stay out of sight." The kid's usually carefree face was pinched into a grimace. "And that's a good thing to remember. We don't want the colonies to end up like Jet." Katara, too, took on an almost ill look at that, but she nodded fiercely.

Sokka gave them a moment to properly brood on that, and then brought up the matter that had been on his mind since he first read the letter. "So, when are you guys leaving?"

Zuko sighed. "I'd like to get there as soon as possible, but this convocation could go on for a while, and I can't just make daily trips from the Fire Nation to Yu Dao. I'll have to go back home and arrange things for a possible extended absence, so I should leave tomorrow."

Iroh stood up from the table. "I'm sorry, Nephew, that I am not at liberty to substitute for you back in the Fire Nation. But I will be here for any advice that you or your minsters need."

Zuko kept his gaze averted from his uncle in the same stiff way that he had been since Iroh admitted that he had helped Azula escape, but the Fire Lord did manage to say, "Thank you, Uncle," without his customary growl.

"As long as you're both going in the same direction," Sokka ventured, "could you possibly ride with Aang? I'm almost done with my list, and with Long Feng making his move, now, we're in even more of a hurry. I want to borrow the _Fang_ so I can get around quickly. I have a lot of ground to cover with my leads."

Zuko glanced at Aang, and at a nod from the kid, gave a nod of his own to Sokka. "All right. I'll also give you the bodyguards I have here. I can pick up more in the Fire Nation, and you might need the extra help. And if find Long Feng or Azula, try to check in somewhere and call for more help-"

"Yes, Zuko, I know how this works." Sokka gave his friend a wave. "I haven't exactly been spending all my time ice-fishing since we took out your dad."

"No," Katara muttered, "you've just been visiting Kyoshi Island." Ty Lee looked up at that and opened her mouth to say something, but Katara sighed and quickly added, "But yeah, you know what you're doing. Sorry."

Everyone but Sokka and Ty Lee left on Appa the next morning, while Sokka redoubled the pace of his research through the records that the Earth King had provided. He managed to finish up within another two days, and was on his way to Zuko's airship as soon as the ink was dry on his list. Ty Lee was waiting for Sokka at the entrance to the Jasmine Dragon, and fell into step behind him as he made his way to the Meditation Garden where their ride waited. Practically bouncing along, she said, "So where are we going first?"

"Place called Jun Zhang. It's in the Southern Earth Kingdom. You ready for that little ploy we discussed?" Ty Lee nodded as they both emerged on the Jasmine Dragon's back porch. Iroh, of course, was waiting for him, and Sokka gave him both a deep bow and a deep smile. "Hey, thanks for everything. It's always great that you let us all take over your teashop, but also for, you know... Suki."

Iroh bowed back. "I always strive to do what I feel is right. I am glad that you appreciate it. Goodbye, Sokka. Ty Lee. I wish you well."

The soldiers Zuko that had left behind were gathered at the airship now, and Sokka went straight for the commanding officer. "Captain, let's clear things up front. Do I have command of you and your unit?"

The armored Firebender shook his head. "My orders from the Fire Lord are to accompany you and render assistance, but we are not under your command."

Sokka sighed. "Okay, then. Sorry about this. Ty Lee, do your thing?"

One moment she was a pretty young lady in a pink circus outfit, and the next she was a terrifying blur that zipped from soldier to soldier and cast each one to the ground with a flurry of taps. It was a good thing she knew Firebender armor so well; Ty Lee had no trouble reducing the entire unit to paralyzed lumps before they even realized they should be defending themselves.

Sokka turned back to Iroh, and as expected found the older man gaping at him from the porch. Sokka offered a sad smile. "Zuko and I had to sign an agreement with the Earth King that we would give Azula to him if we caught her. These guys would have been obligated to enforce that in Zuko's name. This way, if I decide to break my word, I don't have to worry about anyone else."

It was Iroh's understanding nod that gave Sokka the strength to board that airship with a steady gait, Ty Lee walking confidently beside him.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	21. Reconstruction

**Reconstruction**

For obvious reasons, it was unusual for Firebenders to use their gift on the deck of a wooden ship beneath the morning sun. For Azula, that was simply part of the exercise.

From her position at the bow of the _Hidden Gem_, Azula quickly transitioned from one move to another, each strike sending a plume of azure fire into the air around her. While her body snapped through the performance from its steadily improving muscle memory, she used the bulk of her will to maintain control of every flame so that it merely flowed over the wooden deck without catching. It wasn't easy to separate her mind from her body, even as she pushed both to their limits, while the ship beneath her feet rocked in time with the ocean waves.

But then, if it was easy, Azula wouldn't have been bothering.

Although the fire wasn't the only thing she was holding back right now. Plans of revenge and strategy burned in her brain.

She finished her current set with a final leaping snap-kick and landed in a crouch with arms held out wide for balance. The blue flames drifted on the wind to lick at the ship's sail, but died alone in the air with nothing but a fading impression of heat to mark their passing.

A single clap echoed into that same air. "Good," Meisai said.

Beside her, the Mongke the 'Rough Rhino' grunted. "Eh, it was adequate."

Azula's lips quirked at the difference of opinion. Meisai was (functionally) Azula's first Firebender teacher, and this was the first time that she had seen Azula's skills since those lessons- before Yang City and The Victim, before the Darkness in the mountains, before Ba Sing Se. Azula was pleased that her teacher saw a significant improvement.

Meisai was apparently going to defend her point. "Adequate? Did you see her control?"

"Yes, and it was nothing less than what would be expected of any real recognized Master. The Princess Azula I heard of could have gone toe-to-toe with the Dragon of the West."

"_You_ couldn't have fought the Dragon of the West."

Mongke smirked. "At least I tried, once. And I can't start my own nation, either."

Rising from the deck, Azula started a series of cool-down exercises. "Mongke is right. After what my enemies did to me, I've managed to train up to be good Firebender, but I'm not at my old peak. I'll keep working on it, but that's important to remember. While I have some contingencies in mind to address the situation, honest reminders are never wasted."

Meisai and Mongke both nodded, and then the former added, "Your Qi flow is doing a lot better since the last time I trained you. Before, I sensed that it was... hesitant, and possibly weak. It had me concerned about your Inner Fire. My old instructors used to say that kind of thing could be caused by a lack of fervent belief in the Fire Nation's mission." Her mouth quirked into what was almost a smile.

Azula supposed that in Meisai's position, it was probably pretty funny. "That's an interesting perspective. But yes, I had some issues with my Qi." She stretched her arms up and leaned back in place. "So far, it seems to have been resolved by my three-day deep meditation with Iroh, but let me know if you sense anything wrong again."

"Three days?"

Mongke batted at the dangling ends of his mustache with a finger. "I've heard of such things. Guys like General Iroh, General Sheng, and Admiral Jeong-Jeong were supposed to be able to do that. Something about the Qi slowing the body's functions and sustaining the Spirit, or stuff like that. Never been able to do something like it, myself. I've never liked sitting around. Fire always just came naturally to me."

"It wasn't easy, and I had help." Azula did one last stretch to touch her toes, and then straightened and let out a breath. "That's enough for now. I need to do some thinking about our next move. Meisai, can we discuss something? Alone?"

* * *

The _Hidden Gem_ had reached Chameleon Bay in the southeastern Earth Kingdom the day before, and was now moving out to the open ocean. Meisai leaned against the ship's railing, looking at out the new view of endless blue, while Azula was in her old seat at the tip of the ship's the bow. It was a sharp contrast to a similar situation, back when Azula was fleeing Kyoshi Island. Now she had a clear direction to her life, and she no longer had to hide who she was. Now, Meisai was an acknowledged friend.

For the moment, perhaps.

"What did you want to discuss, Princess?"

Azula took a deep breath before speaking. "I've been hiding something from you. As your friend, I regret it, and I want to share that with you now."

Azula could see Meisai's eyes narrowing slightly. "Okay."

"The truth is that I'm not really Princess Azula."

Meisai blinked three times in succession. "Okay."

"I used to be. But the same methods that were used to make me assassinate the Earth King- to make me forget myself for a while- were also used to make me forget everything about my original life. That's why I was pretending to be Suki on Kyoshi Island. I thought I really was."

Meisai's eyes drifted down to her feet, and her face was blank. "Okay." She looked back up to Azula and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm still working on accepting the whole bit about you being a brainwashed assassin. I don't disbelieve you, but I've never even seen a Spirit, never mind this kind of thing. It's a bit much to take in."

Azula barked a single laugh. "You're telling me? Since Kyoshi Island, I haven't experienced _anything_ that I find believable. This whole absurd thing would make an awfully contrived story." She sighed and laid herself down on the deck, head resting where the railings met at a point. "But the main issue is that I'm an Azula who's pretending to be myself. I have to put up a front of being the genuine article, but all I know is what the stories tell me."

"Why can't you be honest about that?"

"The Rough Rhinos think they're following the one true Princess Azula. What would they think if they knew they were following a failed Kyoshi Warrior Firebender with delusions of grandeur?"

"Hm, good point." Meisai walked over and sat down next to Azula. "So what are you thinking?"

"I need to figure out how to be Azula. I _am_ her, and I have all the same tendencies, and even some shadows of flashes of memory, but I need to figure the real Azula out. I have some ideas about that, though. What- I know you couldn't have known him personally- but what was Ozai like? As Fire Lord?"

"Ozai?" Meisai's face twisted. "He was our Fire Lord. And... General Iroh was disgraced before I joined the Fire Army, and there were a lot of bad feelings about how he dishonored every soldier who had fought for him by abandoning the siege of Ba Sing Se. But Ozai was never beloved by the Army or the colonies. He was just our Fire Lord. It wasn't discussed, but the feeling I got was that he was Fire Lord only because Iroh had abandoned everything just before Azulon died. Ozai didn't prove himself, you know? Admiral Zhao was his hand-picked man in the military structure, and we all know how the Siege of the North Pole went. We were really starting to doubt him until... Ba Sing Se."

Azula grimaced. "Ah."

"Yeah. But, really, it wasn't Ozai that got the boost from that. It was his _kids_. Princess Azula- um, you- was the one who was supposedly the mastermind, even if Zuko helped." A frown began tugging at Meisai's lips. "Then Sozin's Comet came. I'm from the colonies; I joined up because I wanted to make the world as nice a place as my home. And then Ozai went out personally to burn the Earth Kingdom instead of pacifying it. He not only betrayed what we were supposed to doing, but he also wanted to destroy the lands that the existing colonies depended on, even if the colonies themselves were spared from the fire, which... well, the Fire Lord's will is sometimes mysterious. That's why there's been no strong, unified movement to overthrow Fire Lord Zuko. People like me don't like him, but we don't like what came before, either. It's a messy situation."

"Hence the whole thing with the former colonies standing alone." Azula thought about holding back, but decided that Meisai deserved the truth- or, at least, _this_ truth. She was still undecided another certain truth. "The sources may not be reliable, but I was told that I was the one who gave him the suggestion to burn the Earth Kingdom. Evidently, the great Princess Azula apparently didn't believe in the pure reasons behind the war, either."

"And you don't remember that?"

Azula sat up and tugged her legs in close to her body. "Not in the slightest. I... there is something, now that I think about it." Azula let her mind follow the thread of the matter of burning the Earth Kingdom with the Comet's power, and was surprised at the lack of physical pain or discomfort in her mind. More than anything, that told her she was finally on the right path. "I recall sitting somewhere high, in a large, harsh room that reflected the light of fires somewhere outside of my vision. I was watching Ozai walking below me, looking very pleased with himself, and there was excitement racing through my mind. I was happy with whatever he was pronouncing, and I was admiring him. It was a perfect moment, but also filled with anticipation for the future."

Azula waited until the warm sea air brought her back to the present before continuing. "So Ozai was the type of man who commanded obedience from his subjects, but not loyalty. Deferment, but not respect. Except for me. But he nearly killed me making me remember my name, and then he expected me to be grateful. I hope... I hope he didn't have a solid reason to expect that to work."

"It didn't get around much before..." Meisai response was slow, as if she was reluctant to say it. "But now pretty much everyone knows what happened to Fire Lord Zuko's face."

"Yes. There is that." Azula nodded slowly, and tried not to picture what she had done to Ozai's face in a fit of combined anger and inspiration. At least she regretted it, although she couldn't be sure the same thing wouldn't eventually happen to Long Feng, when she got her hands on him.

"And," Meisai continued, "Azula- you- chose to rename Omashu to 'New Ozai' after a visit there. You were known as the extension of your father's will here on the front, once you joined the fighting. That's... indicative."

"Yes." Azula let out a heavy sigh. "With his defeat came mine, and also the loss of my sanity. I think... I think I was very dependent on my father. I think I would have done anything he asked of me. That's probably why my first instinct is to act without restraint, except for my immediate goal."

Meisai gave a half shrug, but the muscles in her shoulders and arms still made it a significant motion. "I'm dependent on my father, even though I didn't grow up with him. The Air Nomads may have believed otherwise, but the Fire Nation knows that family pulls at us in ways even we can't perceive. I'm not saying that to excuse or explain or even condemn whatever Ozai had with you, but there's still only so far any of us can resist."

Azula worked to keep a wince off her face. Despite all this talk about Ozai, her interest in him was still purely academic. But Meisai's father... Meisai wasn't a demonstrative person, but within those bounds she evidently had considerable regard for Toru. How would she react if Azula turned him into a weapon to be used against Long Feng?

It was something to think about, at least.

* * *

The whole crew- Captain Toru, Meisai, Azula, and the Rough Rhinos- met later to make their long-term plans. They gathered beneath the afternoon sun, around the table of maps that Toru kept next to the ship's tiller, and the Captain himself started things off with, "Well, the most immediate question is the usual. Where should we make sail for?"

Everyone, of course, looked to Azula, and she moved her eyes around so that they wouldn't settle on Toru. "Despite the damage Long Feng attempted to do to my mind, I remember the general location of his base. However, I also survived his attempt to kill me after I assassinated the Earth King for him, and Ba Sing Se isn't attempting to hide that they're looking for me, so I expect that Long Feng either knows I'm alive or soon will. He'll abandon his base before we can reach it. I told my Uncle all about it, and perhaps he can have the Avatar and my brother do something, but I'm not expecting much from them, either."

Mongke frowned. "So we have no idea where this Long Fong is? Then we know nothing."

"Tut tut, Colonel." Azula smirked at him. "You don't truly mean that I know _nothing_, do you? I also happen to have knowledge of other parts of Long Feng's organization, and so we'll focus our campaign on the ground-level and work our way up. It makes more sense, anyway, since so many people in the colonies are looking for leadership, especially those being recruited by Long Feng's front organizations. I know where I made contact with some of those elements, and Meisai had her own encounters with them. I have one or two other leads I want to check on, as well."

Toru nodded. "So it's back to the colonies, then. Considering what we all did in Ba Sing Se, I'll have to break out some o' the false papers I keep for this ship, and I suppose we'll have to hide you again."

Azula couldn't keep her smirk from turning to a toothy grin. "Thanks to Long Feng, I have now have an official passport that proclaims me as 'Shingyung' of the Independent Former Colonies, and has passed stamped inspection at Ba Sing Se. I think the colony custom officials will accept that."

"Aye, Princess, I suppose they will. Well, the colonies are a general direction I can make for, and we can finalize our first stop as we get closer. What were those specific areas where you encountered the rebels, then?"

Azula named a list of settlements where she had heard first-hand news of the rebel attacks, including the place where she had first been recruited to join Shingyung's gang. What Azula did not name, though, was Yang City. The Waterbender's home was not a target Azula wanted to aim at just yet. As much as she wanted to kill that woman as painfully as possible, Shingyung traveled too much, and Azula didn't want to tip her prey off by being seen in Yang while she was away.

After Azula finished speaking, Mongke added, "It'd be good to pick up my boat, too. This ship is well enough for long voyages and cargo-hauling, but the Rough Rhinos' steamer can move faster, and can fit on smaller rivers. It can be a big help if we need to move around the colonies a lot."

Azula nodded. "An excellent suggestion, Colonel. And if we pick up more recruits, some additional transport will be of considerable help. That also brings up the matter of supplies. We'll be commandeering whatever we can take from Long Feng's forces, of course, but we'll need something to start us off. I'd appreciate it if the Rough Rhinos could assemble a list of equipment we would need to become a worthwhile fighting force- assuming we'll be using precision tactics- and then work with Meisai to figure out what kind of a budget that will require."

Everyone's stares turned a little more intense at that, and it was Mongke who gave voice to the silent speculation. "So, are you saying we'll have enough to properly arm ourselves? Weapons, armor, rhinos, and everything?"

"Soon, Colonel, soon." Azula gave a tight little smile. "Regarding that, I need to speak to Captain Toru alone. The rest of you are dismissed. Meisai, you may as well join us, this will probably concern you as well."

Everyone was curious, of course, but Azula kept her eyes on Toru. He didn't seem to be nervous at a casual glance, but she could detect a little tightening of the skin around his eyes that betrayed his anxiety. It would have been interesting to get Toph's impression of the Captain right now, but then, Toph was probably still an enemy.

"We can go down to the cargo hold," Toru said evenly.

"Away from the sun. How appropriate."

* * *

The _Hidden Gem_'s hold wasn't even close to full, but there were enough boxes- all bearing the stamps of the Jasmine Dragon teashop- to break up what would have been an intimidating stretch of space. Toru sat down on one of the crates, and Meisai took a position standing at his right hand as he said, "How can I help you, Princess? I'm afraid that if you're expecting this cargo to bring in the money you need, we'll be operating on a pretty tight budget. Have to keep enough coins for berthing fees, after all."

"Oh, it's not the cargo that I expect to profit me, but first I wanted to go back to discussing our immediate destination." Azula licked her lips as she paced slowly in front of the Captain. It was time to put on another little show. "Actually, Captain, _you're_ going to pick our landing point." It was odd; even though she was no longer lying, she was still working and strategizing how to make people behave according to her plans. Was this how she used to treat everyone with whom she dealt? No wonder her mind had cracked, if she was constantly exhausting herself this way.

"Me?"

"Of course. We're going to visit your contact in Long Feng's organization, after all. Now, why don't you tell me where exactly that person would be, traitor?" Azula glanced over at Toru, and saw exactly what she expected to see. First he stared dumbly, not comprehending what she had just said. Then his eyes went wide as the realization set in that all his worst nightmares had suddenly come true, followed by his skin suddenly going pale as the true depth of the danger he was in stabbed as a spike of terror into his heart. Toru's whole body gave a lurching twitch, and Azula suspected it was trying to flail about in panic, but he maintained just enough control yet to stop himself.

Eventually, of course, he elected to lie. "Tr- traitor? I- I- There's no- I don't- Dai Li? No, I- they- Princess, please, I- no!"

"Father?" Meisai was leaning over Toru, and moved to catch him when his body suddenly slumped in place. "What's happening to him? _What did you do?_"

Azula shrugged and pretended not to care. "I expect he's having a panic attack. It's one thing to constantly hide even the strongest anxieties, but to have them exposed so suddenly must be a powerful shock. Weak hearts might not even be able to take it."

Meisai turned to Azula and blinked with obvious confusion. "But he doesn't know Long Feng! That pile of dragon droppings had us kidnapped!" Leaning forward, she added, more slowly, "Are you feeling okay? In the... in your mind?"

Azula just nodded, feeling a little sinking sensation in her chest at the thought that her only friend was so ready to believe that she was being overcome (again?) by paranoid delusions. But then, Meisai was defending her father and benefactor. Letting her 'Fire Princess' facade slip for just a moment, Azula met her friend's gaze with as much openness as she could. "I'm sorry. I understand your reaction, but think about it. Why did Long Feng know about you if he needed to wait for me to find him? And why did his people treat you the way they did?"

Slowly, Meisai's eyes widened, just as Toru's had, but that was the only similarity in their reactions. Meisai's mind was working too hard, putting the pieces together, and unlike her father, she was trained to handle shock and sudden attacks. "Daddy?"

"I- you don't- no, I- you don't understand- I-"

"Let me assist you," Azula cut Toru off with a tone like a knife. "You had visited Ba Sing Se throughout your career as a sailor. Meisai explained this to me when we were developing a plan to smuggle me out of the city. I presume that's where you met the Dai Li? Or was it Long Feng himself? Regardless, you established a relationship with the organization. You sold news of the outside world, or tips on your fellow smugglers. Perhaps you were able to break free when Long Feng disappeared, or maybe you were the one to get him out of the city during Sozin's Comet. Either way, when Long Feng put his plan into action, you were recruited to come to Kyoshi Island and spy on me. You passed the visits off as business trips, the perfect cover."

Azula tapped a chin and pretended to mull over her next thought. "I suppose it's possible that you smuggled Ozai onto the island, but I don't think so. Long Feng is too organized, and this ship is too small to have hidden a passenger from Meisai. I believe that you arrived first, verified that I was continuing my life as Suki- perhaps confirmed the details of my schedule- and then gave the go-ahead to bring Ozai in so that he could strike at me." She clasped her hands behind her back, and offered a sweet smile. "It must have been a fortunate coincidence when I sought to escape the island on your ship. You were able to tip Long Feng off as to exactly where and when I landed in the colonial territories. But if I were Long Feng, I would have been paying most of the other ship-owners who were on Kyoshi at the time, although I expect that none were in as deep as you."

The light had gone out of Meisai's eyes, and the hollow tone with which she spoke nearly broke Azula's heart. "But... they kidnapped us-"

Azula nodded. "And then let you go completely unharmed, while paying for the _Hidden Gem_ to remain docked and guarded while you were used against me. That was part of your father's price for helping. He was still enough of a free agent to need his real livelihood protected against his work for Long Feng. I expect your father wasn't happy to be used this way, but Long Feng is a very stubborn person, and a terrible boss."

"Not just th' coins," Toru mumbled. "...said he could save my daughter... a fugitive no more..."

That brought Azula up short. It didn't change her plans for Toru, but- if it was true- then... then confronting him like this was a little bit more cruel. To both Toru _and_ Meisai.

But that was what being Azula was all about.

The former soldier herself was looking at her father with tears in her eyes. "How could you?"

"...for you..."

"_I was fine!_" Her scream was so loud and sudden that Azula actually jumped in place. "I didn't care about being a deserter! Yes, it was a worry, but the whole reason I came to you was because I didn't want to hurt people anymore. I could have stayed with the rebels in the colonies, but _I just wanted to be safe here with you!_"

Toru couldn't meet Meisai's gaze. He just lowered his head and shook.

Meisai straightened and turned away from him. "I can't believe- those guys kidnapped me from my bed and locked me in the dark! I just-" She tried to walk away, but the random direction she chose just led her to a stack of crates, and she had to stop short to avoid a collision.

Azula's heart finally broke. "We're not done yet. I have something more to say." Both father and daughter turned to stare at her with identical hollow stares. Ignoring the weight of their gazes, Azula crouched down in front of Toru and took his hand in her own. Finally, she could stop performing. "Captain, I forgive you."

He blinked at her.

Azula nodded. "I've done awful things, too. I've betrayed people. I know how awful it feels. So I forgive you. Whatever your reasons, you brought your ship to Ba Sing Se to help me, even knowing who I am. You allowed me to escape, even though it means you can never go back to the city. It definitely wasn't part of Long Feng's plans. How could I not honor that? So, I forgive you. I just want your help, now."

Toru's reply was a wheezing, "What?"

"I want you to betray Long Feng. Tell me everything you know, including who you met and where, when you wanted to pass on information or get instructions. That's going to be where we strike first." Azula looked over and up at Meisai. "All of us, I hope."

Toru continued to stare, and then he shook again. A laugh worked its way up his throat, and his face broke into a smile. More laughs followed, and he struggled to speak over them. "You're... you're not going... to kill me?

Azula smiled, and shook her head.

Toru then turned to look at his daughter, the laugher suddenly dying. "And you?"

Meisai took a while to find the words. "I can't forgive you yet. I'm... I'm still just too mad. I need to go do some Firebending." She stalked off, this time with clear direction towards the steps to the main deck, but slowed to a halt when she was only halfway there. "I... understand why you did what you did. I've done bad things, too. But I need time." She started to move again-

"Wait," Azula called out. When Meisai turned again, Azula continued, "We still have that other matter to discuss, about needing money if we're going to start a little war against Long Feng. I still have some from my own supply from Ba Sing Se, and my uncle gave me what he could, but that's not going to be nearly enough for what we need. So, it's only fair that you both hear this. It's Meisai's home, too, after all."

Azula swallowed, and turned to Toru. "I forgive you, Captain, and I want you to sell your boat to finance my private war. Please."

* * *

Even days later, Meisai could barely look at the Maiha docks beneath the late-day sun. It was here that she and her Father had returned after their kidnapping, to the happy and unexpected sight (at least for Meisai) of their ship still waiting for them despite all their fears and hardships. That had all been poisoned now. Father was a liar who had endangered Meisai and deceived her, and soon the _Hidden Gem_ would be sold to whoever could cough up the coins Azula wanted. It wasn't that Meisai thought Father's actions to be a real betrayal; she believed him when he said he was trying to look out for her amidst it all. It was just hard to know that the one person she thought she could trust and depend on had this hidden side to him.

With the world so dangerous and chaotic, it hurt to know that she could be so wrong about the identity she had in her head for her Father.

Of course, Meisai had used deception, too, pretending to the outside world to be the male First Mate on the _Hidden Gem_. The _Hidden Gem_, now having taken on a new identity itself because of Meisai's actions. If she could hurt so much from her Father's actions, what did that mean for her own lies? What did that make Meisai?

Maudlin and self-loathing, apparently.

She didn't even want to be involved in selling the ship or the cargo. Father could handle that. Meisai just accompanied the Rough Rhinos on the mission to fix their steamer. Once Azula had her money- and she looked into Father's information about his employment with Long Feng- they could buy their supplies and get on their way.

The muscular dark-skinned Rhino with the braid- Ogodei- looked over at Meisai as the group made their way across the docks to where they had berthed their steamer. "You okay?"

Meisai nodded. "Just dealing with the costs of war. You know how it is. To win, first you have to lose."

"Huh." Ogodei clenched his fists at his sides as he walked. "No explanation needed. I'm just hoping we can win at the end. This isn't going to be an easy campaign, but if there's any chance for us to live like real people instead of dogs, it's Princess Azula."

Yes, Princess Azula. Another admitted liar. The Princess, like Father, was up front about her lies. Like Meisai as well. They were all liars, really. The only honest people in this group were the Rough Rhinos, men who had burned farms with their owners still in them. What a crew. Why was Meisai even working with these people? Shouldn't she be trying to find something better?

The only possible answer came to her as the group neared the Rhino's metal ship. No, she shouldn't be trying to find something better, because there wasn't anything better. The world had just come out of a war, and everyone had done what they had to for survival. Everyone who wasn't now condemning the rest of the world as dishonorable monsters, of course. Given the choice between those people and the monsters, Meisai would choose monsters who helped her and cared for her and tried to make up for their lies and mistakes. That was friendship, and friendship was what kept soldiers alive in the thick of battle. Tactics were good, and equipment was good, but it was your friends who looked out for you and risked their lives for you when you were in trouble.

Friends weren't a liability, but they could sometimes be a weakness. Meisai would just have to hope that it didn't lead to her own downfall.

But for now, it was time to see to the tactics and equipment. Meisai turned to Ogodei as they walked up the steamer's ramp and said, "Okay, I showed you how to tie good knots. Now you show me how to fix engines and keep this floating tank on top of the waves. I promise I'll be a quick learner."

* * *

Toru motioned in front of him towards his destination. The low building was of obvious Fire Nation construction, complete with the red roof, but stood out from other such buildings thanks to the Hawking Tower nestled up against one of the corners. The entire tower was covered in square holes, in which trained messengers hawks rested and waited for deployment. "That's the place. I'd go inside, ask for a certain clerk, and give him the message to pass on to Long Feng, or whoever the next link in the chain is." He couldn't help but cringe, half-expecting his companions to react poorly to the reminder of his betrayal.

But Princess Azula just gave a smirk from her spot in the shadowy ally. "I can work with that. Here." She pulled a rolled-up piece of paper from her sleeve, and handed it over to Toru. "Send a message to Long Feng, that you encountered this in an Earth Kingdom port, and that it serves as proof that I escaped Ba Sing Se alive."

Unrolling it, Toru found it to be one of the Wanted posters that the City Watch in Ba Sing Se had been pasting up all over the city. A sketch of Azula's visage stared out at him with dead eyes, and Toru had to suppress another cringe. Azula had said that she would forgive him, but even assuming she was telling the truth, fear was not an easy thing to leave behind. "But I told Long Feng I wanted to be done with him. This will tip him off that I'm still involved."

"Not if you frame it the right way. Have a message passed on with this, that you fear I may try to contact you or Meisai now that I'm free and out in the world. Also, tell Long Feng that if you do encounter me and have to deal with it, you'll expect more money." Azula crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Would that satisfy his sense of paranoia?"

Toru swallowed against the implication that he knew Long Feng well enough to tell. "Aye, that will do it. Hold on."

His heart hammered the whole time he was inside the Post Office, even worse than it usually did. Toru had never liked being a snitch, not even when he had simply passed some tips on to the Dai Li for a few coins, and he had certainly never liked Long Feng. The man gave off the same vibe as a shark that had tasted man flesh. But sometimes Toru had just needed the money too much, and as he quickly learned, there was no such thing as a casual relationship with either Long Feng or the Dai Li. Once they knew of you, you were always nothing more than a resource to them. But was Princess Azula any better? Meisai thought so, and now with his ship gone, she was the only valuable thing that Toru still had in his life. If she wanted to follow this course, he had no choice in the matter.

Just because he hadn't been there to watch her grow up, just because he hadn't really loved her mother, did not mean that Toru did not love everything about his daughter.

It didn't take long to arrange things as Azula had instructed, and the clerk in the Post Office hadn't so much as blinked at Toru as he took the message and the Wanted poster for delivery. Toru left as quickly as he could without hurrying and joined his companions where they waited in the ally across the street.

Azula nodded at him. "Well?"

Toru turned back to the Post Office, directed his gaze at the Hawking Tower, and motioned when he saw what he was looking for. The clerk had emerged and was setting up a hawk with both Toru's message and the Wanted poster. "There. That's him."

Azula turned to their other companion on this little task, the Rough Rhino Vachir- who wore the tattoo of the Yu-Yan Archers on his face- and whispered, "Do you have it?"

Vachir just gazed at the clerk and the hawk, and followed the latter when it took off into the sky. "Yes."

Toru still didn't understand how that was possible. "Are you sure? How can you track a bird in the air?" He didn't mention that had no desire to re-initiate contact with Long Feng for no gain.

Vachir didn't even look at Toru. He just followed the flight of the messenger hawk with his yes. "Yu-Yan were Qi Hunters, before they became a political tool. We can track anything we know, and I know Fire Nation hawks well enough. My skills caught up with General Iroh, once."

Azula nodded. "Good. I hope you're curious, Toru, about who was reading your messages. We'll probably be meeting them, soon enough."

Toru couldn't help but cringe again. Fear was not easily left behind.

* * *

Beneath the setting sun, on the dusty outskirts of Maiha, Azula reviewed her army. It was a small army, made up of just Toru, Meisai, and the Rough Rhinos, but it was hers, pledged to her agenda and trusting in her to deliver on promises and the bonds of friendship. She had no idea who she was supposed to be- compared to who she actually was- but the expectations of these people would have to be clues enough for her. With luck, she would be able to keep that system going until she had destroyed her enemies and won justice for the wrongs committed against her.

The army was assembled on the deck of the Rough Rhinos' steamer, a small and decrepit cast-off of the Fire Navy. The Rough Rhinos themselves were sorting the last of the supplies with professional expertise and distributing the materials onto the komodo rhino beasts all saddled up for travel. It was easy to see the Fire Nation influence on the whole scene, especially with the red light of the dying sun shading the proceedings. Azula would have to keep that in mind for when they encountered some of Long Feng's rebels; she didn't want to make it look like she was trying to revive the tyrannical side of the Fire Nation's rule in addition to its ideals.

Azula stopped in front on Mongke. "What kind of armor did you get, Colonel?"

"Princess," he said with a bow. He must have been feeling pleased with himself. "As instructed, I have standard combat armor for all of us, plus the same number in spare sets for storage here on the ship. I was able to get good stuff from Yu Dao, but they don't produce the traditional Firebender armor anymore. It's been mixed with designs from Ba Sing Se. From what I can see, it's no worse than the old stuff. We'll see if it's any better."

"Well done, Colonel."

"Oh ho, that's not all." Mongke gave a rare genuine grin. "Take a look at yours. It cost a little extra, but I figured you'd find it worth the price."

Raising her eyebrows, Azula moved to the thin crate that the leader of the Rough Rhinos motioned at, and pried off the lid. She couldn't help but remember how The Victim- the poor woman Mianju who had been forced to wear Azula's face- had gifted her a set of cheap, common armor, but this new set was as far from that memory as could possibly be. Azula recognized, laid out in the straw, a style of armor that wasn't unlike what Zuko wore when he went into battle. It was Officer's Armor, and this set specifically had apparently been made for someone with a slight build; it looked like it would fit Azula well enough. What was unusual about it was the coloration: Officer's Armor was typically highlighted with reds and sometimes even gold, but this armor was all black.

Devoid of color. A nothingness awaiting expression. Azula couldn't help but wonder if Mongke was a secret poet, or if she herself was simply seeing ghosts. "_Very_ well done, Colonel. All I need is a crown, but I'll wait to see if the people of my new nation will make one for me." She didn't mention that she still didn't know how to put her hair up in a top-knot. She couldn't even remember how she had transitioned from Azula's hair style to Suki's. "And the other supplies?"

"We're pretty much finished loading, and the rest of the supplies have been stored in the cargo hold. Ogodei will sail the ship to meet us at whatever location you decide. It will be slow going with just a pilot, but he won't have trouble."

Azula briefly glanced over at Toru. "Vachir said that the hawk we had dispatched was flying northeast, so that's our direction. Along the way, of course, we'll see who we can recruit from the less strictly-managed rebel cells. I expect most don't even know who they're working for."

Mongke nodded, and after a brief consultation with Ogodei, offered the name of a large river settlement some a journey's distance towards the northeast. "Ogodei can park the steamer there and await further word from us."

"Very well. Let's get things moving, shall we? Just in case Long Feng has more than a just a clerk in a Post Office on his payroll, I don't want to remain in this city."

Mongke gave a sharp whistle, and the Rough Rhinos immediately mounted up on one of their namesake beasts. Ostrich horses might have been faster and cheaper, but Mongke's crew had their preferences, and riding a Fire Nation animal wouldn't do Azula's reputation any damage. Any _more_ damage. Azula stepped over to her own komodo rhino, and found herself hesitating as she approached the addle. "Um, Meisai, do you think you could-"

"No problem."

Meisai was over in an instant, and with her help, Azula was soon seated in a saddle atop the lizard mount. "Okay. My first official command is to move out, and to find victory. Yes, that sounds pleasant enough. Ride!"

And so Azula's army took off, riding down the ramp from the steamer, and into the streets of Maiha. People got out of their way, and soon enough they left the port city behind. A dusty road stretched on ahead of them, and a motion from Vachir confirmed they were on the tail of their messenger hawk. Azula spurred her rhino faster, and the group rode off beneath the light of a red sun.

* * *

It was dark, and despite the pleasant molestations of the moon's pull, Shingyung was getting ready to stop for the night and make camp when the shirshu slowed and began trying to turn off the path. "What's the problem, dear mount? Does our lovely little Azula no longer wait for us in the east?"

The Shirshu whined, pawed the dirt, and settled onto the ground, although it kept glancing back towards the northwest.

Shingyung shook her head, setting her ponytail swaying behind her to tickle her neck. "Oh, you're being a bad boy again. Here, let me help you." She slid out of the saddle, and approached the shirshu's head. It growled at her, but she waved a stream of water out of one of her skins, and pulled it into a pair of glowing blue orbs around her hands. "Nice shirshu. Niiiice..."

She struck like a snake, planting her glowing hands on each side of the creature's forehead. It went rigid and stopped struggling, and Shingyung grinned in the dark. "Yes, let me heal your memory. The silly, silly men in the mountain made you forget your master, that lovely woman June, but I can bring healing. Remember her. Remember your loss. Remember how the blood leaked out of her cold body. Remember how alone you felt in the world. Remember!"

Eventually, Shingyung stepped back and let the water drop to the dirty road. The shirshu writhed in place for a while, whining the whole time like it bore a physical injury, but soon enough it ran out of energy and lay shivering in the dirt.

Satisfied, Shingyung climbed back into the saddle. "Good boy. Now, take me to my delicious little Azula."

The newly obedient shirshu stood up, and ran off into the night, pointed back towards the former colonies.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	22. Princess and Icon

**Princess and Icon**

Captain Ahou did not have a good feeling about his orders, and the root of the problem was Princess Azula.

The Princess was the heart and soul of the Fire Culturist Resistance Front, and she had recently given orders to completely destroy any civilian traffic that Ahou's squad encountered on roads of the rocky southern Hu Shin provinces. The dusty convoy of travelers that Ahou was currently watching through his spyglass fit those exact parameters, unfortunately. To obey the Princess' wishes, Ahou would have to lead his warriors against the guards protecting the caravan, and once they were neutralized, slaughter any and all non-combatants in sight. It wasn't that he was unused to bloodshed; Captain Ahou's own military career had taken place entirely on the frontlines of the war, where he had fought the Earth Kingdom until an Earthbender shattered the bone in his right leg. He had been sent back to his parents' home in the colonies to heal from his injury, and by the time he was able to limp along again, the war was over, but Ahou's desire to spread the reach of his homeland's culture was as strong as ever.

He had joined what turned out to be Princess Azula's Independence Movement to help give the former colonies the strength that the Fire Nation always intended for them, before Fire Lord Zuko ruined things. It was just that Ahou never thought that slaughtering civilians would be part of fixing things. Fighting soldiers and police forces? Yes, Ahou had been willing to kill in those cases. Even when orders came down to put the fear of Fire into specific non-combatant targets, it was with the assurance that there was a larger strategy, and frequently those attacks specifically called for some survivors to be allowed to go free. But this? Rampaging across the lawless lands between each settlement and killing everyone Ahou found? If the order hadn't come from Princess Azula's own lips, during her most recent visit, Ahou would have refused. But it was _Azula_, and she said this was the final step in her plan. If Ahou betrayed her now, everything that had come before- everyone who had died before- would be a waste.

Ahou held back a sigh as he gave the hand signal to bring his unit's small catapult into position. They would soften up the convoy with a barrage of burning tar-rocks, then sweep in with their cavalry and run down everything on two feet. And then... hopefully... someday... the Independent Former Colonies would be a new nation born of the Fire Nation's cultural influence, and Ahou would have a home- if not a career- of which he could be proud.

Ahou limped over to his ostrich horse- a much more plentiful resource in this area than komodo rhinos- and mounted up as the catapult launched its first load. The flaming projectile flew in an arc that Ahou could practically see in his dreams and landed just short of the caravan, but that didn't mean it was a miss. The rock was rounded, and so it rolled after it struck the hard ground. Ahou could see the glow travel into the midst of the caravan, and some of the people react to get out of its way, but then the details were lost to confusion. As the catapult fired again, Ahou barked a command to his soldiers- someday, they would be united by uniforms, but for now they made do with whatever armor and tunics were to be had- and they spurred their bird-steeds into motion. He led them on a curve that would take the convoy from the side, where anyone looking for the catapult would not see them, and then they would push straight through mass of targets, aiming their spears into the center of the bodies that couldn't get away fast enough, doing the will of Princess Az-

-_blue fire_ blasted straight across Ahou's path-

-his ostrich horse reared up and tossed Ahou backwards from the saddle-

-his fellow resistance fighters passed by and began crying out in pain and confusion as a bunch of _komodo rhinos_ pushed into their midst-

-Ahou's tailbone struck the rocky ground-

-and then reality was just a burst of white pain. It quickly settled down to a sharp soreness, promising a bruise on his backside that would last for days, and Ahou looked around in search of tactical information. He had a limited view from the ground, but it seemed like a small rhino cavalry force of some kind had rushed into his own troops and were carving their own path. Even as Ahou tried to stand and rally his troops, his original attacker brought her rhino to a halt right in front of him and punched out a warning shot of blue fire into the air between them. Ahou's gaze fell on her face and he found his breath leaving him, because she looked like Princess Azula herself, wearing proper officer's armor but lacking any Fire Nation decoration or designation. But she couldn't be Princess Azula, because the Princess had lost her Firebending.

Hadn't she?

The young woman in front of Ahou certainly _spoke_ like the Princess. "I am Azula, and I order you to stand down! These civilians are under _my_ protection."

While Ahou's brain struggled to catch up to the situation, his mouth went ahead and ventured a, "But-"

"Fine." Princess Azula didn't seem especially put out by his disagreement, and simply slid down off her rhino and took a Firebending stance. "We can settle this easily enough. I challenge you to an _Agni Kai_ for both the lives of these people, and authority over your entire command."

Oh.

_Technically_, if they were going to have an Agni Kai over this, they should bring the other fighting to a halt. A short distance away, Princess Azula's minions were hitting Ahou's forces with enough success that the feather-haired commander barked out, "Yeh-Lu, Meisai, take the catapult down!" and two of the riders turned off and headed to attack the siege weapon.

But... but why was Princess Azula trying to stop him? She had given him these orders. And now she was_attacking_, putting Ahou's honor on the line? Ahou was confused and scared, and so he did what any good Firebender would do: "Very well! Though circumstances are chaotic and ceremony completely absent, I accept the challenge! _Agni Kai!_" Ahou made the first move with a thrusting punch aimed right at his challenger's face, but Princess Azula didn't react as expected; she came in to meet his advance, but instead of launching her own attack or dispelling his fire she ducked right under Ahou's arm and grabbed it by the wrist. Azula yanked his limb hard and the Fire died mid-air, but she still continued to hold on and pressed her advance.

As Ahou brought his other hand up, already summoning the Fire, he couldn't help but wonder what possible technique this could be, but before he could either strike or answer his own question, Azula twisted his captured arm again at an angle that put pressure on his wrist joint.

_Considerable_ pressure.

Ahou only realized he screamed after the fact. He found himself on his knees, his free arm waving in midair without flame, overcome by a wave of pain that ripped down from his captured wrist.

"Yield," Azula said flatly.

Ahou tried to pull away, but Azula's grip on his wrist was like a metal vice, and she responded to his resistance by raising his arm and applying even more leverage.

Ahou once again found himself screaming, and it seemed like his bones screamed with him. He couldn't tell the difference between what he was feeling now and those memories of the living boulder rising and rolling onto his leg, crushing the bone within. Amidst the swirl of past and present, he heard Princess Azula saying, "A little more pressure and the _snapping_ will begin. Do you concede the Agni Kai?"

And Ahou found himself shouting, "_I yield! I yield!_"

And just like that, the pain stopped, leaving only echoes along his nerves. Ahou's arm was freed, and even as he curled it up against his chest protectively, he looked up once again to find Princess Azula smiling warmly at him. "I'm so glad we were able to resolve things without permanent injury. It's good to be working with someone reasonable. Now, if you please, it's time for you to order your soldiers to stand down. I _did_ win the Agni Kai, after all."

She was right. With the Agni Warrior's Spirit as their witness, Princess Azula's strength had prevailed over Ahou's own, and so honor dictated his actions. "As you command, Princess. Captain Ahou is at your service." Giving his arm one last shake to chase away the memory of the pain, Ahou ran over to his ostrich horse and climbed back into the saddle (ignoring his sore tailbone), then rode over to the to do his Princess' will. "Stand down! Mission aborted! Mission aborted! Surrender to the Princess Azula's forces! This is Captain Ahou, and the mission is aborted!"

* * *

Azula watched with no small amount of relief as this Ahou call for his soldiers' surrender. From what she had seen, the battle had been going well enough, the Rough Rhinos wheeling around the twenty or so rebel bandits with speed and precision, and managing to contain the larger force with strikes of fire, arrows, and even an expertly-wielded guan dao. But the element of surprise and the way Mongke had taken advantage of it had been a large part of their success, and Azula didn't yet have so many followers that she could afford to lose any to battle attrition. With that in mind, while the rebel fighters lowered their weapons and settled their ostrich horses, Azula trotted over to Colonel Mongke. "Any injuries?"

Mongke somehow managed to grin and smirk at the same time while reining in his rhino. "Nothing serious, but I'll check with the others for any scrapes. These guys must have been hitting merchant caravans for too long; they had no idea what to do on the receiving end of an ambush, never mind the receiving end of the Rough Rhino elites."

"I'm glad you're so confident in your abilities." Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "But are we really the first group to happen upon one of these attacks and help out?"

Mongke shrugged. "Civilians poking their noses into an attack like this, when they could just as easily sneak away while everyone's attention is elsewhere? And here I thought someone like you would be a cynic."

"I am, but I'm also ambitious." Azula turned around and glanced over at the rebels. They had finally settled down, looking to their commander and awaiting further orders. "I suppose I have trouble imagining the kind of mind that doesn't share my proactive tendencies. Anything else before I go sort this out?"

"Yeah, I hope you weren't hoping to take their catapult. Yeh-Lu dealt with it... um, decisively."

"Well, I suppose that's why he's a demolitions expert and not a pickpocket. Have Meisai talk to the people in the caravan and find out if they have injured who need our help. I'd send you, but (no offense) you don't have a very... reassuring look to you." Azula didn't wait for Mongke's response, moving immediately back to the rebel leader she had defeated in the Agni Kai.

Seeing her approach, he gingerly dismounted from his ostrich horse- or as gingerly as he could with a limp- and bowed formally. "Princess."

"Captain. Let's start at the beginning. Are you working for someone, or is this your misguided idea of loyalty to the Fire Nation?"

The man's face twitched, and his gaze was wary as he answered. "We... take orders from _you_, Princess. Don't you recognize me? I'm Captain Ahou. You gave me my orders yourself last week."

Ah. Azula understood what was going on, now. "Ah. I understand what is going on, now. I'm afraid you've been the victim of a hoax, Captain. The woman you speak of is an imposter, an agent of fugitives from the Earth Kingdom who are looking to create opportunities in the colonies. I'm currently working to deal with the situation."

Ahou's gaze didn't change. "Uh, you... she... looked _exactly_ like you, Princess. Well, almost exactly. I... uh, how do I... know..."

"No, it's okay. I understand the confusion." Azula raised her right hand, palm up, and summoned a ball of azure flame. "There, see? I'm confident that your other Azula couldn't do this."

"I, uh, heard that the Avatar had taken your Firebending..."

Azula rolled her eyes as theatrically as possible. "Blue. Fire. Let me know when you've caught up with the situation, Captain, but be aware that my patience is not limitless. As you can imagine, I'm rather in a hurry to deal with Fire-less imposters commanding loyal soldiers in my name." That was the key. Just keep pushing past them until their brains caught up to the situation, and she could softly bully people like this into accepting whatever she desired. It seemed that, in addition to intricately manipulating the people closest to her, Azula's instincts were good at dealing with all kinds of beguilement.

Ahou was still staring at her. "But... why? We... we were fighting for the Culture of the Fire Nation-"

"Yes, yes," Azula interrupted. "But what exactly did you think was actually going to happen? Let's say someone- like me- managed to somehow take advantage of your random violence to seize power here in the colonies. Let's assume that some kind of government could be set up that 'properly' based itself on the Fire Nation and the dominance of its culture. _What then?_ Do you think that the people who prefer the Earth Kingdom way of life would just roll over? Leave the colonies? Many of them were born here." Azula put her hands on her armored hips and gave Ahou her coldest glare. "The cause you were fighting for, Captain, was an ever-increasing amount of sectarian violence that would leave the colonies in chaos. And then these fugitives I mentioned would sweep in, and seize power and money for themselves. Your treason was not in falling for an imposter, it was in hurting innocent people for a cause that would eventually destroy all of the Fire Nation's influence on these lands. _Good job._"

Ahou was quiet for a moment longer, and then dropped into a full kowtow that had his forehead pressed deeply into the rocky landscape. "My Princess! My life is forfeit! I am yours to command or slay!"

Azula found herself blinking at the display. Maybe she overdid it with the criticism? But is it actually possible to over-criticize a terrorist? Perhaps the old Azula would have been pleased with the sight of a grown man throwing himself down in the dirt at her word, but the woman she was now just found it uncomfortable. What kind of a person needed that type of validation? "Please, get up, Captain Ahou. It's clear that you wanted to be a loyal son of the Fire, you just had the wrong idea about how to do it. Work with me, and together we can create the nation you _truly_ desire. It may not be what you envisioned, but we need to focus on our efforts on building, not destroying. Trust me, and I will give you new dreams worthy of your loyalty."

Ahou looked up, hope clearly evident in his eyes as he placed his trust in the icon she made herself out to be, and Azula felt own her lip curl, but whether her reaction was born of disgust or pleasure in herself, she couldn't say.

* * *

She kept Ahou with her when she went to talk to the caravan's leaders, but she let him lower his head in shame. It made for an excellent symbol, along with his limping walk.

Meisai had the leaders- two old women and a man with a classic long beard- gathered a short distance from the rest of the caravan. There were some rubberneckers amongst the civilians, of course, but most were occupied with attending to the injuries and damages that had resulted from the catapult attacks. Azula approached the leaders slowly along the dusty road, Ahou a step behind her at her left, and she kept her open hands out and away from her body. She also made sure she got the first word in: "I apologize for the attack on your people. Although it was not my doing, the Captain here believed himself to operating under my orders. I have corrected that mistake, and I'm grateful I was on hand to prevent further damage."

"It was very convenient," one of the old women said with a tone that was almost agreeing. "And of course we recognize the famous Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

Ah, so they weren't going to be as easy to bamboozle as Ahou. Well, Azula could hardly get everyone on her side with nothing but words alone. "From my Wanted posters, no doubt." She motioned dismissively and added, "That situation is fairly complicated, but let's just say I'm trying to improve my reputation. As far as I'm concerned, everyone has a right to this land and these roads, no matter what color they wear. If I find anyone saying otherwise in my name, I will do what I did here today. I wish you a good and safe journey."

She turned and started the walk back to the waiting soldiers. Meisai and Ahou followed at her heels, and as they all walked, Azula directed her words to the limping Captain. "Ahou, I meant what I said there. The only hope for the colonies is to unite their entire peoples, and trust that best of the Fire Nation's ways will find a place here. I'm on my way now to deal with the people impersonating me, but I also have no intention of letting unwitting traitors rampage around the wilderness taking lives in my name. I need to know everything about this operation of yours."

"I'm sorry, Princess, but that isn't very much. The people who recruited us all gave no names, and all of our direct orders came from y- er, the imposter. We have a base in a cave not far from here, and live in the surrounding towns. For a while, the imposter would show up unannounced and send out word of a meeting, then give us orders for a specific target, usually a convoy of merchants. It was implied several times that there were other groups like us, but we were given no information on them." Ahou thought for a moment before continuing. "Oh, one time a mission was canceled because the Avatar was rumored to be in the area looking for... um, you, actually. And then a week ago, the imposter showed up again, and told us we had an open mission to attack everyone we found on these roads."

As Ahou spoke, the details aligned in Azula's mind. Long Feng must have discovered that she survived the Earth King's assassination, and was sending out his imposters to wreak havoc in response. She had no idea what he hoped to accomplish; she was already wanted as a criminal by everyone on the planet. But as horrible as the orders were, they were a tactical mistake. If all these rebel groups were out and about attacking people, that meant Azula had a good chance of finding more of them as she journeyed to Toru's Dai Li handler. Even if they weren't all as easy to convince as Ahou, having him with her would improve her odds, and the sight of her blue fire was a very good bit of evidence of her claims.

Truly, in crisis there was also opportunity.

* * *

In crisis, though, there is also risk.

When Azula had first traveled through the colonies, just after she escaped Kyoshi Island, there had been a sense of imminent danger. News and rumors abounded of attacks and killings, but they weren't frequent enough to be a major disruption to the daily lives of most people. At best, the only changes people experienced were due to the movement of refugees out of the more dangerous areas. By the time Azula had pushed further west in the company of Shingyung, things had escalated so that, while Azula still did not personally encounter any armed rebels, she saw the detritus of violence and fraying tempers of people who had given in to what was, in their minds, an inevitable coming war.

She had wondered if that was what the Earth Kingdom itself had been like during the war with the Fire Nation. Suki had memories of traveling to Ba Sing Se, but when Azula compared them to what she had seen at Shingyung's side, those recollections had stood as nothing more than abstract paintings of scenes that may or may not have happened. Now, traveling with the Rough Rhinos and Captain Ahou's rebels, Azula had to wonder how what she was seeing compared to those lost memories of the war itself that the old Azula had experienced. Her little army encountered several more of the rebel groups. The first after Ahou's had been in the process of pillaging a merchant convoy when Azula's army came upon it; they saw the smoke from a distance and hurried to intervene, but by the time they arrived, the fighting was over.

During a pause to take stock of the situation, Meisai had ridden up beside Azula and said, "What should we do? Are we going to recruit these people, too?"

Azula hadn't known what the answer to that should be. "You attacked civilians when you were part of one of these groups, yes?"

Meisai had nodded.

"But you came to feel it was wrong, and left."

Meisai had nodded again.

Azula nodded back. "Give Colonel Mongke the order to attack and kill any who fight back, but let him know that we will accept surrenders. Once the fighting is done, I will offer a job to the survivors."

Between the Rough Rhinos and Captain Ahou's troops, Azula's forces outnumbered their opponents, and had the advantage in skill and tactical expertise. Plus, the enemy forces were tired after the slaughter they had just finished; they were cut down easily and messily, and the survivors had all jumped at the chance to save their lives by serving the true Azula. She had made the offer from atop her komodo rhino, holding a blaze of blue fire in each hand and bellowing, "The mercy I offer you is the mercy of service! You will serve me in atoning for your dishonorable actions, or you will be given to the people on whom you have been preying like scavengers!"

And so their forces- and resources- grew.

The next encounter had gone much better. It was impossible for Azula's growing army to hide their passage- especially since they were mostly sticking to the roads in their search for more rebels- and the next group had spotted them coming. A pair of scouts waited ahead of Azula with an offer to meet from their commander, and when he arrived to find both the Fire Princess and the Rough Rhinos awaiting his company, he submitted to their authority immediately. It was a fortunate opportunity that could only have happened in the lawless lands between the colonies; getting spotted leading an army along the roads of either the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation would only lead to a painful encounter with the national military.

The army's steady growth brought up the issue of command responsibility. Each of the rebel leaders, of course, wished to retain control of their old groups, and Azula didn't to push them too far with her demands; she had nothing keeping them loyal to her but their own willingness to serve. She allowed the commanders to keep their positions, and consulted them on tactics and intelligence about the lands they were passing through, but made sure she consulted Mongke first of all and always rode with the Rough Rhinos. They had been the first, after all, and were symbols in their own right, never mind that as fighters and scouts they were worth their weight in gold. Having Master Benders like Katara, Toph, and Aang would have been better, of course, but few were the warriors who could fight on that level.

There was a practical side to sticking with the Rough Rhinos, as well. Vachir, the former Yu-Yan archer, was still setting the route for the army based on his tracking of the messenger hawk that Toru had sent off to his contact in Long Feng's organization. Azula often had to compromise between sticking to the trail and following the local roads, but Vachir was always able to find the direction again. The only problem was that, as the army's numbers grew, their pace slowed and the roads open to them dwindled.

It was Meisai who came up with the solution. "Send out some messengers," she had said one night while making camp. Azula always pitched her tent next to Meisai's, although she had lost track of where Toru was setting himself up. "There's more rebel groups out there than we'll find just on our path, and I bet that for everyone who comes looking for us, there are two smaller groups that make like birds out of a forest fire at the first rumor of our coming. If you send Ahou or one of the really loyal guys as your messenger or ambassador or whatever, along with enough of an armed escort to shrink your army back down to a manageable size, you can start dealing from a position of respect and peace. You know, as opposed to showing up with an army and demanding submission. "

Azula allowed herself a small smile. "But forcing people to submit is so much fun! Still, I see your point. That should solve a number of problems, and I can have them rendezvous with Ogodei and the Rough Rhinos' steamer when they're done."

"That's a good idea. Saves us from having to wait for them or go out of our way again."

Azula nodded, and looked up at the stars. The glow of the campfires diluted their brightness, but they were still recognizable as the same stars by which the _Hidden Gem_ had navigated the seas. "Should I send your father to the steamer, as well?"

Meisai had looked over with wide eyes. "My father?"

"Our success with recruiting- and our failures- are likely reducing our chances of surprising Toru's contact. Even if whoever it is doesn't know we're specifically coming for them, they'll still be cautious about our approach, or even preparing for an attack. And we won't be able to keep our presence a secret. It could come down to a pitched fight when we finally arrive."

"And my father is no fighter."

"Exactly. We can't rule out his treachery against Long Feng being deduced, either." Azula hesitated for a moment, and then added, "But on the other hand, Toru hasn't been at ease since I confronted him. I don't know if he believes that I'm lying about forgiving him, or if he's just intimidated by me now. If I were in his position, and had an opportunity like being sent to another location, I'd be giving serious thought to just disappearing during the trip."

Meisai slowly began shaking her head. "No. He'll follow your orders. For me. I haven't been talking with him more than I need to, but... he's waiting for me. I can tell. He's not lying about that. Just like I saw your guilt about Kyoshi Island in your eyes, I can see the regret in his eyes whenever I meet his gaze."

She said no more, and Azula let the night go silent between them.

The next day Azula sent out her ambassadors with their escorts, and sent Toru to meet with Ogodei and convey the latest news.

* * *

The messenger hawk turned out to have landed in the former colony of Geum Gwuang. Often called 'the Gaoling of the colonies,' it was where the money lived, in the form of wealthy lenders and investors with far more gold than was needed for their decadent comfort. Of course, Geum Gwuang's importance was not yet even a hundred years old, so its wealth was newer than and not quite as deep as that of Gaoling, but business opportunities in the colonies tended to return a profit faster than in the more conservative Earth Kingdom. After all, demand was far from met for machines spawned from the Fire Nation's war technology, and anyone who had the knowledge and the resources to build a factory would quickly find all manner of new friends.

_Of course_ Long Feng would have a presence here.

After a short daytime scouting mission to the city with Vachir and Meisai, Azula returned to her army's camp amidst the tall grasses some distance from the city, and assembled the commanders for a briefing. "We traced the hawk to one of the smaller estates within the city limits," she said, making a mark on a map of the city she had procured. "It's protected by a high wall and armed guards. We saw at least one guard with bare feet, so we can confirm an Earthbender presence. Given the wealth at hand in Geum Gwuang, we have to acknowledge the possibility of significant Bender reserves."

Mongke traced a line across the map with his finger. "Looks like the good news is that it's not in a very populated area. If we approach from this angle at night, and keep quiet enough, we should be able to get right up to the wall without having to pick our way through the smaller streets."

Azula nodded. "The city proper looks about as you'd expect, but the roads running by the estates tend to be wide, and the homes are a fair distance back from their protective walls."

"It's the walls that worry me," Ahou said. "If there are Earthbenders amongst the enemy, we don't have anything that can wear the walls down faster than they can be rebuilt."

Mongke snorted. "You obviously haven't been spending a lot of time around Yeh-Lu. There's a reason he goes all day, every day, in a suit of armor thicker than his skull. All we need to tell him is the size of the hole we want in the wall, and then get him up to it quietly enough. He blows it open, and then we can rush in."

Ahou thought about that for a moment. "That should work, but I wouldn't trust our mounts to tolerate the sound and force of the kind of explosion you're talking about. We should probably leave them behind, and go on foot."

"Our komodo rhinos will be fine," Mongke said. "And the Rough Rhinos do their best work on Rhinos."

Azula nodded. "Fine, we'll take the rhinos, but leave all the ostrich horses. Ahou, I'll let you detail the guard we'll have to leave behind, but assume that everyone else will be coming. The estates probably have their own guards because they can't depend on the City Watch out that far from the center of the city, but we still have to be prepared for enemy reinforcements." She waited for everyone's acknowledgement, and then added, "And we need to limit enemy deaths. If we take lives amongst the City Watch, we'll earn the city's undying ire, and it's rich enough to hire some revenge when we're least able to deal with it. As for the people in the estate itself, any of them might have the answers we need."

She could see from the faces of her commanders that they didn't like that, and it was Mongke who gave voice to the collective. "Princess, that makes our job a lot harder and more dangerous."

"I understand, Colonel, but the point of this mission is not pure destruction. Our soldiers need to protect their own lives, and I know we will have to kill tonight, but we _need_ information. We can't just assume our enemies will have helpfully written it down for us to find. Obviously, the people in the estate are more likely to be informative than the guards, but we can't dismiss the possibility." Azula swept her gaze over the others until she got everyone's affirming nod, and then said, "Thank you. I'll leave the rest of the details to you. We ride at midnight."

* * *

The crack of the explosion was the start.

Yeh-Lu's custom bomb detonated with enough force to simply remove a complete stretch of the wall, and was even designed to throw most of the debris back into the estate, instead of towards Azula's waiting army. Thus, any nearby guards would suddenly have their quiet late night routine interrupted by a terrifying boom and falling chunks of the wall, while Azula's soldiers were free to rush in and immediately go on the offensive. As part of their preparations, Mongke and the other commanders had forbid anyone from making a campfire or even a torch, so every soldier's eyes were naturally acclimated to the lack of light, even with just a sliver of the moon shining down on the earth. To that end, the Firebenders amongst the soldiers were all armed with either a sword or a spear, with instructions not to summon their element unless it was called for by a commander.

Azula's army struck like a legion of wraiths born of the darkness of the night.

Azula herself was right in the midst of the action, of course, on foot with Meisai at her side. To her, the battle was a mix of shadings. Everything existed as moving fields of black, with her soldiers barely visible by the glint of pale moonlight off their armor and their blades. The noise was much easier to go by, with every point of contact with the enemy marked by grunts and clashes of metal and cries of pain. Thanks to her days as Suki the Kyoshi Warrior, she was used to violence at night, but this kind of battle was bigger and harsher than anything she was capable of remembering. The point of this conflict was not to arrest criminals and seize their property, but to push forward to dominance by whatever means necessary.

That wasn't to say Azula found it hard to get into the proper mood. She followed Meisai's lead- the other woman had been a professional soldier, after all, and Azula had no problem deferring to experience- and worked at the tail end of the army's charge. As Suki, she had learned to fight with a katana, and while that was a different weapon from the curved and heavier dao blades to which her army had access, the chopping principles were similar enough that Azula felt comfortable with the weapon. One dull shape- too dull to be one of her soldiers- rose up before her in the night, and Azula made out the gleam of metal moonlight in time to dodge the enemy's sword. She struck with her own blade near where the gleam of the other sword ended, and was rewarded with a scream and the disappearance of the enemy metal. She must have struck her opponent's arms, but she could tell from the impact that she hadn't chopped clean through, so he must have been armored in some way. Azula kicked high with a booted foot and the crunch of impact with her enemy's face dropped the shadow to the ground.

Meisai finished with another opponent at Azula's side, and the two moved forward with the rest of the force.

The fighting didn't last too much longer before Azula's army encountered a surprise. Even without a lifetime's worth of memories, Azula had enough combat experience to understand that there were _always_surprises, but this one stabbed straight to her heart. A figure in the moonlight- slight in shape despite the obvious silhouette of Fire Nation officer's armor- stood up above the rest of the guards on a protruding rock that might have been the result of Earthbending, and only the utter blackness of the night sky made the shape of the dark hair visible.

It was, of course, a very familiar Fire Nation topknot.

The figure shouted into the night with the voice of a woman, "Earthbenders to me! Hold a line against the invaders!" It was a voice that was not unlike Azula's own. It wasn't identical, but it was a voice that most could easily imagine coming from the mouth of the infamous Fire Princess.

Azula told herself that she was the one true Azula, and that there was no duplicate who could come close to her, because it was something she desperately needed to believe all of the sudden. Then she took a small signal horn from her belt and blew a specific sequence of sounds. If translated into words, that little tune could have said, "Firebenders, it's time to blind these Earthbenders." As they had been instructed, all the Firebenders in Azula's army shut their eyes momentarily, and then punched or kicked or even spit out the brightest flares of which they were capable. Azula didn't shoot out her own flames- there was no point in drawing attention to herself just yet- but opened her eyes only after the sounds of Firebending had ceased. She saw a number of dully glinting shapes- her own soldiers- pushing forward again, while the other shapes in the distance were rubbing at their eyes as though blind.

Effectively, they were, and those Earthbenders were a far cry from Toph Bei Fong.

While Azula's army took advantage of the ploy, Azula herself ran forward to where her duplicate had tried to call for a rally. She heard Meisai's dashing footsteps behind her, but Azula only had eyes for the silhouette with the topknot and shoulder talons. Azula sheathed her sword as she ran, and chose to simply tackle her duplicate when she reached the other woman. The exact moment of impact with the ground was impossible to anticipate in the night, but Azula barely felt it when it came. She was concerned only with restraining her imposter, making sure that she captured the woman completely unharmed. Even if she didn't have any worthwhile information on Long Feng's plans, Azula was _not_ going to let this Victim die like Mianju had in Yang City.

The imposter struggled, of course, but she was no Kyoshi Warrior, and obviously didn't have experience with pinning, or being pinned, in a real brawl. Azula quickly had her immobilized, and hissed, "It's over. Stop struggling."

"No," came the imposter's voice. "No no no no no _no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!_" Then with a strength that felt almost inhuman against Azula's straining muscles, the imposter tore one arm free and reached for something tucked unobtrusively behind her armor's belt, and-

-Azula realized what was going on and quickly let go of the imposter to try to seize that arm-

-the glint of a small blade in the moonlight arced towards the imposter's throat-

-and bounced off of Azula's armored forearm. She backhanded the knife out of the imposter's grip, and then shoved her other arm down over the other woman's neck right where a certain blood vessel pulsed heavily.

This newest Victim soon went limp, and Azula rolled off her with a sudden exhaustion. That was close, and revealed a disturbing new facet to Long Feng's activities. He apparently wasn't going to let his Victims be taken alive.

Azula begged to differ.

* * *

Azula spent the rest of battle seeing to her imposter with Meisai's help. Meisai had kept some opportunistic enemy guards from taking advantage of Azula's focus, and once the battle moved on to the estate's sole building, stayed behind to help strip the imposter of her armor and search for any other hidden weapons. Then they tied the Victim up as securely as possible, and Meisai began the slow process of getting the woman back to the army's camp. Azula wasn't sure yet what she would do with her latest unfortunate proxy, but she had fantasies spinning through her head of somehow repairing the damage and restoring the imposter's old life.

Of course, that was what she had wanted for Mianju, too, but instead that Victim had died with her own name just barely on her lips. It was an important lesson to keep in mind, and Azula had to forcibly shift her own focus when it was time to deal with the fallout of the little war she had initiated.

Her soldiers had been distributed around the main mansion as guards, and were at last shedding light on the situation with some blazing torches. They bowed to Azula as she marched through the mansion's main entrance. Within, Azula found herself in a complex so fancy that even true Royalty would have felt at home. The ceilings were high, and stairs led off into even higher places hidden from view. No wall was left blank, and various useless tables and statues were placed around to keep the open spaces from actually feeling open. Throughout this space, Azula's soldiers stomped about, some of them manhandling bound prisoners and dragging them further into the complex. One of the few who weren't moving around motioned at Azula, and waved her over to an open door leading into what looked like a study.

Within, Mongke and Vachir waited for her with another man lying tied up on a desk. The Colonel had his arm tied up against his chest in a sling, and he wore an impressively harsh scowl on his face as he said, "Princess, welcome to my temporary command headquarters. I think we found the bag of dragon droppings that you were looking for. This guy here is in charge, or so the servants say, and Vachir found our messenger hawk on a perch on his bedroom balcony."

Azula indulged in a satisfied smile. "Excellent work, Colonel. Before we get on with that business, what are the results of our battle?"

"We're still counting the losses, but we did pretty well. I knocked my arm up, nothing bad, should heal soon. Among the other commanders, we lost Ahou. Most of the guards were encountered on the lawn were killed, but we managed to take a fair number of the ones here in the house captive. We're tying up the Earthbenders and stowing them on the second floor, and herding the non-Benders into the basement to cool off. We've got some servants locked up in a room across the main hall, and some other non-combatants we found in fancy bedrooms locked up by their lonesome. I figure we'll want to interrogate them individually, or at least as many as we can before we get out of here."

"Well, you certainly have an attention to detail. I believe you've handled things in as satisfactory a manner as possible." Azula very purposefully didn't comment on Ahou's death. Later, she would have to say something to the troops under his command, the first rebels she had recruited. As far as her own personal feelings, though, Azula wasn't quite sure what her reaction was. Ahou was a murderer, but he was also a loyal and honorable servant to the leaders he truly admired. He had admired Azula and willingly served her, both the fake her and the real her. Or had he simply served two different icons: one made by Long Feng, one the child of many fathers and still trying to make herself her own person?

So it was with a certain pleasant anger that Azula turned to Toru's Dai Li contact, still trussed up on the room's desk. "And now for you. Vachir, could you please sit this scum up? I wish to look him in the eyes."

With no gentleness whatsoever, the archer grabbed the ropes wrapped around the man and hauled him up into a sitting position.

"Thank you." She looked at her captive, and to her surprise, she recognized him. She didn't _know_ him, but something about his eyes, and the scar running vertically across his right cheek with creases where it must have been stitched back together, resonated in her mind. Azula gave in to that feeling, let it guide her back to the past, and found a hazy memory of standing in a cave lit by glowing green crystals, wearing an outfit made of material that felt unfamiliar against her skin, and looking upon standing rows of men.

Rows of men in _Dai Li_ uniforms.

In this memory, she had stopped in front of one of them, and he wore the face of the man Vachir was propping up for her. The same scared eyes, the same scar. She distinctly heard Mai's voice echo through her mind with a tone of amused scorn: "I thought you were gonna make that one guy pee his pants."

"Ah," Azula bluffed with a smirk growing on her face, "if it isn't my old friend, the Dai Li agent with a deficiency in self-composure and courage. What are the odds?"

The man's face paled considerably. "I won't tell you anything!"

Azula raised an eyebrow and made a show of examining her fingernails; she noted that they were filthy and ragged from the time she had just spent riding through the colonies. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. You could have been so useful. Of course, I already know everything about Long Feng's plans, and how to destroy him, but I was hoping to fill in a few useful pieces of information. Well, if you won't help, I suppose we might as well kill you and make a search through your records."

"It won't work," the Dai Li said with a frantic shake of his head. "I know you're bluffing me! If you know anything about Long Feng, you know you're running out of time. If you kill me, you'll be too late!"

Azula rolled her eyes at him. "And if you tell me nothing, I'll still be too late, so why should I bother keeping you alive? If nothing else, I'll enjoy watching you burn, and can save myself considerable aggravation." The Dai Li blinked several times, most likely trying to find a way out of the logic trap he constructed around himself, but Azula didn't give him time to really think. She continued, "Of course, we're both just being silly, now. You _will_ talk, because I am going to have my compatriots here make you talk. Right, Colonel Mongke?"

The leader of the Rough Rhinos turned his scowl into the grin of a hunting cat. "We've done 'field interrogations' before. We know our business."

Azula nodded, keeping her eyes on the Dai Li. "Quite so. Of course, torture is a very unreliable form of gathering intelligence, but if you won't talk, then we'll have no choice. It will take longer, and it might not be accurate, but we'll get _something_ out of you, and we'll at least enjoy the process. The other option is that you start talking now. That's still an unreliable method, but if we act on your information and discover that you've been lying to us, we can always go back to the torture option. I'm sorry to say, old friend, that we're going to spirit you away into the night, and your life from now on is going to be subject to my every whim. There is no hope of rescue, just of benign treatment at my hands before I turn you over to either the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation for your crimes. So, do you have anything to say?"

The Dai Li was sweating now, and alternating his glances between Mongke's savage grin and Vachir's even more frightening blankness. Finally, he looked back at Azula and said, "Perhaps we can make a deal?"

"Hm?"

"I... uh... I'm Long Feng's manager in this area. I received instructions from him, and created and ran some rebel groups for him across this region."

"Yes, we'll want information about their locations, as well as ways to contact them. They'll be working for me, now." This man, Azula was realizing, was Shingyung's counterpart in this region. "And I gather that you commanded the imposters Long Feng made of me, too."

"Um, yes. The idea was for the rebels to think she was their true master. I got orders to send the Azulas to Long Feng, but recently that was all reversed and the imposters were sent back with new instructions."

"To have the rebels attack everyone they could find. Yes, as I've said, I'm familiar with Long Feng's plans. Where are the other imposters?"

The Dai Li swallowed. "Most of them are still being reprogrammed." Then his eyes lit up, and he said, "If you let me go when this is all over, I can give you Dong Min."

All of the sudden, the entire world flipped beneath Azula's feet. "You can what?"

"Dong Min. He's the one reprogramming the Azulas. He brought them back from Long Feng with the new orders."

"Dong Min... is _alive?!_"

"Yes." The Dai Li took one last glance at Mongke and Vachir, and then sat up straighter and stared Azula straight in the eyes. "Dong Min is alive, and I know exactly where he is."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	23. Side Story - Career Path

**Side Story - Career Path**

"Hello, my name is Professor Dong Min."

His colleague, the esteemed Professor Xianzhi, chuckled as he put down his chopsticks. "Am I the first person you've tried that out on?"

Dong Min couldn't keep a grin from twisting his own smooth face. At Xianzhi's motion, he took a seat for himself at the small dining table. "No, I introduced myself like that to everyone I ran into on the way here." He gave a small gesture to the faculty dining room around them, as resplendent as anything in Ba Sing Se. "I just like the sound of it. _Professor_ Dong Min. It sounds like poetry."

Xianzhi nodded and picked at the remnants of his lunch. "Not to mention the... ah, social perks of the position. Have you been awarded a new house yet?"

"No. I'm still in the Middle Ring, but I'm comfortable, and it's an easy commute."

"You'll probably get one after your first big publication. Things have been slowing down in the Rings ever since the King took direct command of the military."

Dong Min nodded as a waiter came over and bowed. "Ah, I'll have the pepper chicken-pork, please." He turned back to Xianzhi. "Actually, my first big publication was what I wanted to talk to you about. Specifically, a new spin on your study on suppressed memories."

"Oh?"

"I was impressed- _very_ impressed- with your findings." At Xianzhi's smile, Dong Min continued with a light tone, "I think there's great possibility in a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon, and even a challenge to your premise."

"A challenge, eh?"

"Indeed. Your conclusion was that you successfully uncovered suppressed memories and I agree that in most- if not all- of the cases you're probably right. However, I've become intrigued by the possibility of_manufactured_ memory."

Xianzhi blinked. "A _fake_ memory? I've never heard of such a thing. Is there precedent? I uncovered no-"

"No, no," Dong Min assured his colleague. "There is no academically verified precedent. This is entirely something I've come up with on my own, but I think it's more common than you're expecting. Do you recall the brown silk curtain that used to hang around the entrance to this dining room?"

Xianzhi's eyes lost focus. "I- brown?"

"Yes, I distinctly recall it when Professor Renyi brought me here for a lunch five years ago. The curtain they're using is gold now. Do you recall the old one? It was a bit thicker, and brown. I thought it gave the ambiance a darker overall appearance, and I was pleased when I came back and found that they had replaced it with the gold one."

"I... suppose. Yes, I remember it. Brown. What of it?"

"Xianzhi, that curtain was never brown. Five years ago, it was still gold. I was lying to you. I know it was gold because I noted how it matched the color of the curtains in my father's house. I just made you generate a fake memory, a picture of something that never existed."

A slow smile spread across Xianzhi's face. "A nice trick. Shallow, of course."

"Of course."

"But still, a nice trick. _Intriguing_ possibilities. Yes, I can see where it intersects with my own work. Perhaps together we could-"

"That's precisely what I was thinking. Co-credit."

"Very well, Professor Dong Min. Let's work up a proposal, see what kind of resources we need. But I'm sure we'll get approval for your project."

* * *

"Hello, my name is Agent Long Feng."

Dong Min gave a short bow from behind his desk and motioned at the chair on the other side. "Please, come in. You're right on time. How can I help you?" The question was a formality, of course. The Dai Li only came to the University for one purpose, to chastise anyone who ran afoul of the organization's increasingly widening mandate. Usually, the only interest the Dai Li took in the faculty was when they denied publishing approval to a monograph or book, and the organization only dispatched an agent to the University itself when provisional approval was being considered so long as the author submitted to various censorship requests.

Dong Min had recently sought to publish a paper. He had not yet heard back on the outcome.

The agent- Long Feng- glided smoothly over to the chair and took a seat. Unusually for one of his function, he removed the wide hat from his head and set it down casually in his lap. "As you might have guessed, I am the agent who was assigned to review your latest paper, 'Manufactured Recall and Intersections with Behavioral Patterns,' and approve it on behalf of the Dai Li."

Dong Min nodded.

Long Feng smiled easily. "The review is still pending, but I wanted to talk to you before I came to a decision. To put it simply, I have an offer for you."

Dong Min slumped in his chair. "I will, of course, submit to whatever changes the Dai Li request of me. I only wish to be a good citizen."

Long Feng's smile didn't change. "Oh, you misunderstand me, Professor. Publishing your paper is going to be an all-or-nothing deal. However, I was hoping that you would agree to classify it as a state secret, and work with the Dai Li to take your research to the next level."

"...what?"

"Yes. The Dai Li have long been interested in developing a method of corrective behavioral therapy for people who do not have the ability to... be one with the city's cultural identity. We want to help those who have gotten themselves into trouble; we want them to fit in and lead happy, productive lives. While reading both your latest paper and your older works, it became clear to me that you have developed the start of a system for doing just that." The young agent crossed his hands over his hat. "I'm offering you a job. Or, more specifically, a grant to continue your research on behalf of the Dai Li and work with us to develop a way to use manufactured memories in service to the great city of Ba Sing Se."

Dong Min could only blink in response. A grant? From the _Dai Li?_ This was completely unprecedented. The Dai Li had vast resources, and this was a chance to work without opposition, or pressures from the University to maintain any kind of performance standards. However, it meant Dong Min would get no credit for his work, not within his lifetime. But there would be no limits to how far he could take his interest in the human mind and its memories. The gain to science could not be ignored.

Long Feng stood up, raising his hat. "I'm sure you need time-"

"Actually, Agent, I do not think I do. Your offer is very generous, and my dedication to my work demands I accept."

"Excellent." Long Feng's smile grew broader, and he bowed to the professor. "We'll need to put together an initial proposal of course, with a preliminary set of goals and the resources you'll need, and then present it to the Head of my organization. I promise you, I will be your advocate in all things."

Dong Min stood up on the other side of the desk, and walked around it to give the young Dai Li an approving pat on the shoulder. "I look forward to working with you, Agent Long Feng."

* * *

"Hello, my name is Joo Dee."

Long Feng's face was passive, unmoving. The weak crystal-light of the room left his visage in shadows, even though he eschewed the hat worn by all his subordinates. "I thought your name was Beihai Ren."

The woman's smile shrunk, and the ends gave a momentary fluctuation. "My name is Joo Dee. I have never heard of a Beihai Ren."

"And what of your history? How did you come to work as a Royal Host for the city?" Long Feng clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing slowly around the woman.

Her smile broadened. "I have worked my whole life to serve the great city of Ba Sing Se. It is my honor to serve the Earth King as a Host to his guests and allies."

Long Feng stopped so that he was directly in front of her, staring straight into her eyes. "What if I told you that you are really Beihai Ren? That you were born far away, and came to Ba Sing Se as a refugee. That you lived for a month in the Lower Ring, until you became so unappreciative of the city's hospitality that you began encouraging your neighbors to leave with you? That you have been a prisoner of the Dai Li ever since?"

The woman was silent for a long moment, and then said, "My name is Joo Dee. It is my honor to serve the Earth King and the great city of Ba Sing Se."

Long Feng finally turned to the room's third occupant. "How much probing can she take?"

Don Ming's reply was quiet, but still echoed off the dark stone walls. "Our tests have not yet found a limit. The Shield Programming comes into effect whenever she feels notable stress or anxiety. It turns out that if a subject becomes suspicious of the repeated Shield Mantra running through her thoughts, the programming will activate again and reset the subject's mind to baseline levels. It's quite elegant, in a way."

Long Feng's smile was both honest and very, very sharp. "Excellent. Congratulations on your latest success, Professor. I'll give the approvals to implement the full Joo Dee program immediately. Once you finish training the designated Agents, I think it will be time to take your research to the next level."

Dong Min blanched in the crystal-light. "More?"

"Of course. This latest success proves that more creative measures are possible. What if, instead of simply pacifying most of our subjects and returning them to their lives, we _enhance_ their purpose? If we can create a brand new identity for a Joo Dee, it should be a simple matter to give our other subjects additional instructions for something like... oh, listening for treasonous conversation and reporting it to us. We could even suppress it until a signal is given, and then activate the subject as a sleeper agent. We can get them into places where even soldiers cannot go, and then... they can do a soldier's work."

Dong Min was very still as Long Feng walked past him, patted his shoulder, and said, "Work up a proposal for me. You'll be given everything you need, of course."

* * *

"Hello, my name is the Earth King."

When Dong Min didn't react, the bespectacled monarch blinked and took on a slight slump. "Er, I mean that my name... well, technically it _is_, but... um, are you awake?" When no reply came, the Earth King took a breath, squared his shoulders, and said, "This is not helping your case."

When Dong Min spoke, his voice was hard enough to make the Earth King flinch. "You can have it all. My notes. The names of my assistants. The names of my subjects. The Dai Li kept records of everyone, so you should find details enough of their lives in there, if the Fire Princess didn't destroy them. By then, Long Feng had hidden me away, so I have no knowledge of her actions. And I will assist in whatever measures you wish of me. Just don't put me to death, please. I never wanted any of it."

The Earth King could only stare. "Er... the Avatar and I want to deprogram the victims we can find, if possible. Return them to their lives, or give them new ones."

Dong Min nodded slowly. "I'll put together a proposal."

* * *

"Hello, my name is Professor Dong Min."

The girl- a young woman, really- didn't look up at him from her crouch on the bed, but she did whisper, "I don't know who I am anymore."

Ignoring the all-too familiar pit in his stomach, Dong Min kept his gait even as he walked over to his latest subject. _Patient._ Latest patient. Latest, and- if the Earth King's word was good- his last. After the Joo Dee's, he thought his worked would finally be done, but then this proposal came along. It would never end, Dong Min had realized, so long as he stayed in Ba Sing Se, within the power of other people. After this, he would take his reward money and spend every last copper that it took to make sure that no one would ever connect him with the name of 'Dong Min.'

"Well," he said to the woman. "That is what I will fix for you. With my help, you will never have to be bothered by the name of 'Azula' ever again."

**SIDE STORY END**


	24. The Sins of the Father

WARNING: This chapter contains unflattering discussions of suicide.

**The Sins of the Father**

It looked like an abandoned ranch in the middle of nowhere, and yet Azula knew that it housed the most dangerous man in the world.

At one point, the ranch might have been a success. The main structure was obviously built to endure, since it was still standing amidst the fields of dust even decades after its last inhabitants had passed on. The remains of the fence enclosed an impressive amount of land, where pigsheep or rabbaroos or herds of ostrich horses might have grazed. But any grasses were long gone, given way to gray dirt sapped of all life-giving properties, though the ranch facilities still remained: stables, storage sheds, feeding troughs, and workshops. The whole thing did a very convincing job of impersonating a corpse, even though Azula knew that it had returned to life, and she couldn't help but relate.

_Dong Min_ had returned life to this ghost ranch. And he was processing kidnapped women like rabbaroos raised for slaughter.

Azula rode her komodo rhino to the top of a hill overlooking the ranch, the morning sun shining behind her. The Rough Rhinos were still acting as her Honor Guard, and when Azula was satisfied with her view, she gave a nod to Colonel Mongke beside her. He used his horn to blow a resounding call that echoed over the empty flatlands. In response, a heavy chorus of discordant voices rose up from behind, a sound that was instantly drowned out by the pounding of ostrich horse feet against the dusty ground. Azula's small army rose over the hill around her and flooded towards the ranch in what she was sure was probably one of the more ridiculous sights to be found across the world at this exact point in time. It was less ridiculous when the enemy emerged from the ranch buildings to fight back.

This wasn't a declared war, a war between recognized nations, but nevertheless the enemy was kind enough to wear uniforms to this battle. Their armor wasn't dissimilar to that of a warrior in the Fire Army, but the tunics they wore beneath the metal plates were a green that recalled Avatar Kyoshi's robes. That alone was indication that Azula was in the right place; she had seen those uniforms before, in the Chubang Mountains, on Long Feng's neo-Dai Li. How many of them came from the original organization in Ba Sing Se? Some had gone missing when the White Lotus liberated the city, and others had disappeared from the Fire Nation when Azula herself- in another, long lost life- had banished them. But those lost Dai Li weren't great in number, while the force arrayed at this ranch were to stand up to her own small army.

As she watched, surrounded by the Rough Rhinos, the enemy began their defense. Upward swings of their fists tore small rocks from the ground, or perhaps just pressed the dust together into hardened clumps. Then some subtle hand tricks made the actual attack: the rocks broke apart and pieces that were too small to see from Azula's position shot forward with speed that made the air whistle. The individual pieces, however small, lost nothing to their lack of mass. They pierced through the armor of Azula's soldiers like it wasn't even there. The men fell from their ostrich horses with strangled cries.

Azula forced herself not to react. These weren't the first men to die under her command, but they were the first she had to witness giving their lives for her cause. The true Princess Azula wouldn't have been bothered by it, and that was the part that the Azula of today had to play. It helped that she, and her followers, truly believed in her cause. Long Feng's people had to be stopped or killed.

Just behind Azula, one of the Rough Rhinos spoke. "I've seen that trick before." It was Kahchi, the man with the braided beard who wielded the _guan dao_ bladed staff. Azula turned to find him staring at the battle with disturbing intensity. "It was back before I was tagged for the Rhinos. The Earthbenders make those pebbles small so that they fly fast enough to drill through most armor. They cut through meat with no problem, and then shatter against bone. It supposedly takes a lot of strength and control, and isn't very accurate unless a bunch work together. That's why it's not more common. The ones we were fighting were an elite unit from Omashu. Those of us who came out of the battle with all our limbs still attached hunted down every last one of those Earthbenders."

Mongke shifted atop his rhino. "I heard that the Avatar used a trick like this against ol' Fire Lord Ozai on the day of Sozin's Comet. Ozai was hauled back in one piece, though, so I figured that if Kahchi here knows his stuff, then the guy I was talking to must have been exaggerating."

"Or," Azula said, "the Avatar simply missed." She didn't tell them where her insight came from, and in truth she wasn't sure. She had memories of witnessing that fight between Aang and Ozai, but Sokka's running commentary was an intrinsic part of them. Was her true experience that he simply described it to her after the fact and programmed her to think she was really there? Or had Princess Azula truly been in attendance that day, all other tales to the contrary? "Well, as valuable as it's been to see that the Dai Li have learned some new tricks, I think this has gone on long enough. Colonel Mongke, give the next signal."

Mongke took up his horn again, and blew another pattern, this one a bit more complicated. In response, a cloud of dust rose up in the distance behind the ranch and began moving forward with unnatural speed. Soon, even Azula could see the source of the filthy cloud.

It was her _second_ army.

Her _Earthbender_ army.

They dirt-skated forward towards the neo-Dai Li, and when the defenders turned their little stone ballistics at Azula's newest soldiers, thick stone walls rose to provide defense. Even as the high-speed pebbles chewed at the standing slabs, more earth rose to reinforce the walls and then they began grinding forward, pushed along by Earthbenders. The enemy soon realized that they were at the center of a pincer, and either needed to change tactics or change positions.

Azula didn't much care what they chose. "Rhinos, it's time to get our own mission underway."

* * *

Getting an Earthbender army hadn't been as difficult as Azula would have expected. She simply had to ask her new pet Dai Li agent, the captured administrator who had commanded Long Feng's forces in the Northeastern Colonies.

Azula liked to call him Scar, after the mark on his face.

After her army's assault on the Dai Li's estate in Geum Gwuang, Azula, Mongke, and the archer Vachir had spent all the rest of the night interrogating Scar. Azula had estimated that they would only have until dawn before people would start to wonder what was going on there, and the guards at the hole they blew in the estate's wall had already reported a scuffle with the local peacekeepers. Every minute they stayed was a risk, but Azula needed the information Scar offered, and could less afford the risk that the coward would somehow escape or kill himself to protect his knowledge. Even after they had negotiated for Dong Min's location- Scar's life in exchange exact directions to the abandoned ranch where Dong Min had set up shop- Azula had pressed on. "And what kind of defenses does Dong Min have to protect him? If I get there and find that you've led me into a trap, I'm going to be very upset."

Vachir had twisted Scar's arm behind him, and the former Dai Li agent squealed in response. "Ahh! Ah, no real defenses, but he has enough soldiers there to help manage all the... ah, all your duplicates. They can all fight."

"Hence them being soldiers," Azula had muttered, her mind already in motion. "And, even more importantly, they can probably burrow away with Dong Min if necessary. Firebenders and swords can't counter that. We need an edge. We need... Earthbenders!" Azula had smiled at the idea that just popped into her conflicted head, and made it look as feral as possible. "Tell me, did any of the rebel groups you had worshipping my imposters have Earthbenders?"

"That-" Scar had swallowed, eyes shifting back and forth between Azula and the Rough Rhinos. "That's not part of the deal."

Azula hadn't particularly wanted to torture a man for information, or even order it done, but she desperately needed what Scar knew. Doubtless, the real Princess Azula would have done so without blinking, and she didn't need the Rough Rhinos wondering why she was acting so squeamishly.

For added confusion, Azula had _Suki's_ memories and Suki had been a prisoner of the true Princess Azula in the fictional history Sokka had crafted. Yet those memories were the vaguest in Suki's fake past. There were some of the fight where Suki and her Warriors had been captured, and then just unfocused impressions of imprisonment in the Boiling Rock until her rescue. She remembered the prison's bullying guards, but that was it. Even in Sokka's story, there was nothing to go on about Azula's actions. The other Kyoshi Warriors had been sent to another prison with less security, and none of them spoke of Azula as anything more than the one who captured them. What did that mean?

Speculation offered no answers, so Azula had shaken her head and made up a story about how Vachir could use arrowheads to extract teeth from an unwilling patient's mouth, and Scar had begun babbling all kinds of useful information about some rebel groups in the province immediately to the north where Earth Kingdom culture still enjoyed some prominence. After ransacking the rest of the mansion and quickly interviewing the other residents, Azula had led her army back to the relative safety of the lawless wilderness.

Her army, and her new prisoners. Including Scar and the newest Victim.

After meeting up with the Rough Rhino Ogodei aboard his steamship to drop off the prisoners, resupply, and make new plans, it was time for Azula to collect her Earthbenders. Her previous recruiting efforts had been haphazard, based entirely on who Azula randomly encountered on the road to Scar's hideout. This time, she could go straight to the rebel bases and deal with a show of strength. It had been a surprise when she happened on another of The Victims.

She had strolled right into the first rebel base- an artificial cave not far from a major highway- with Meisai and the Rough Rhinos in their usual positions behind her, and was surprised to find the rebels themselves gathered around a map table with one of Long Feng's duplicates in the middle of giving a briefing.

"Well, well," Azula had said. "This is awkward."

She had planned for the stroll-right-in strategy to work because she looked like the rebels' leader, but it had failed rather spectacularly. The rebels made to attack, while Meisai and the Rough Rhinos had prepared to counter-attack, but then everything had been brought to a halt by The Victim's cry of, "Wait!" She had walked forward- moving just like Mianju the Victim had, to Azula's discomfort- and gazed at Azula with clear wonder. "_Who_ are you?"

Azula had taken a deep breath, and began improvising a new kind of sales pitch. "Clearly, I'm the true Princess Azula. You're nothing but a work of art made in appreciation of my greatness." The imposter had begun to protest, but Azula waved a puff of blue fire into the space between them, making the other woman stumble back reflexively. "If you were me, you'd be a Firebender. The greatest Firebender alive. If you were me, you would fight like someone trained since birth by the Fire Nation's greatest warriors." The imposter bumped up against the map table, trapped, and Azula added, "If you were me, Long Feng wouldn't have brainwashed you to kill yourself as soon as your situation became difficult."

The duplicate's eyes had widened at that, the fear evident in her their light, and her right hand moved to the small of her back. Before she could do anything more than pull the knife from the hidden sheath, Azula's own hand was there to grab the wrist and hold it steady. "Really, the suicide trick again?" With her left hand, Azula pulled the knife she had taken from the imposter at Scar's estate out of her belt, and held it up so that everyone could see. "I'm starting to make a collection of these knives. Too bad they're not more decorative." She yanked the imposter's arm out so that her own knife was plainly visible as being identical to Azula's, and gave a superior smile that she didn't feel at all. "Don't you have any original moves? I swear, no matter how many times I do this, it's always the same."

The Victim had panicked at that, screeching and trying to yank away, but Azula was ready, and had the other woman pinned in an instant. Meisai and the Rough Rhinos had then taken custody of her, tying her up and gagging her, while Azula turned to the gaping rebels. "As you can see, you've been the victims of a rather awful conspiracy. What did that imposter promise you, that you would follow a supposed Firebender?"

One of rebels, a tall woman in polished armor, had said, "She claimed that she wanted to destroy the nation that had cast her out, that her revenge was more important than who ran the colonies."

"Ah, revenge. Good, then we're already on the same page. I'm after revenge on those using my face to destroy the colonies and trick their people. I want to avenge myself against the rest of the world by making the colonies into a new nation that will rise above the others."

The rebel woman had frowned. "Rise how?"

Azula had reached down and picked up a rock off the floor with one hand, and then summoned a torch of azure flame in her other hand. "Rise by uniting. If everyone in the colonies comes together- equal in all things- then we'll have an advantage over all three nations. We'll have all their strengths combined, and knowledge of their weaknesses. In many colonies now, that's already a way of life, but I want to take it even further. Allowing people wearing red to profit off the labor of people in green will just be taking on the old weaknesses of the other nations. We need to create something _new_, something to empower all our people, instead of just a corrupt few."

And by sticking to that message, Azula had eventually brought those rebels around, once they were sure that Fire Lord Zuko wouldn't be pleased. They pledged their loyalty to her, and the Earthbenders among them freely gave of their skills. That incident was the true seed, and from that, Azula grew a new army. It was smaller than her army of Fire soldiers, and Azula made sure to keep them from intermingling to much for now, but it was an advantage she would use to get her hands on Dong Min.

Her influence was growing, and with it, the danger.

* * *

From an observation point far back from where the main battle was taking place, Meisai used her spyglass to watch Azula and the Rough Rhinos ride off towards Dong Min's ranch. "They're off. We just have to hope that they can get into the building unnoticed."

The observation point was a temporary camp staffed by just a handful of guards, and Meisai's report wasn't really necessary. There was nothing any of them could do to influence the battle at this point, and they had their own duties. One of the most important was keeping an eye on the prisoners, the two Azula-imposters who were lying unconscious and tied up on a pair of bedrolls. When they were awake the women never stopped struggling, even to the point of exhaustion, and didn't make any attempt to communicate. Sometimes, Meisai wondered if it wouldn't be a mercy to just kill them painlessly, but Azula had hopes that this 'Dong Min' would be able to fix them. Meisai wasn't so sure- all this talk of brainwashing people and molding their faces to match someone else's was completely beyond anything she had experienced- but at the very least Dong Min would have further knowledge of Long Feng's organization.

And Azula herself.

Assembling an army was one thing, but _keeping_ it was quite another, and the sooner they brought this conflict to a close, the better. For now their money was holding out, thanks to the gold they seized from Scar's estate, and the loyalty of the troops hadn't wavered, although Meisai suspected that things would change now that the casualties were starting to pile on and Earthbenders had been added to the mix. There was no reason to delay if they could quickly move to take Long Feng out and get on to the real work of stealing his plans to make this new nation.

And even though Meisai's comment was completely useless, someone found value in it anyway. "They'll be all right," Toru- Father- said. "The Rough Rhinos put on a good show of being nothing more than landlubbing pirates, but they know their stuff when it comes to fighting and soldier movements and whatnot. They'll get her in, one way or another."

Meisai found herself nodding, because even though her father was nothing more than a sailor- even though he had made a deal with Long Feng behind her back that had led directly to the current situation- she really did believe what he said. Yes, he had tricked her. Lied to her, really. But Meisai could hear the desperation to make her troubles go away in Father's voice, and despite it all she still found she valued his judgment and experience.

Azula had formally forgiven him, so what was Meisai waiting for?

* * *

Mongke took the lead on the charge, and pointed his komodo rhino straight into the heart of the dust cloud being generated by the warring Earthbenders. Azula rode right behind, and heard him bark commands to the other Rough Rhinos. "Vachir, get a line on the ranch and keep us straight in the dust. Yeh-Lu, look for fires and shout if we drift too close. Kahchi, stay by the Princess and play babysitter!"

Kahchi steered his rhino up close to Azula's, and she wasn't unappreciative. Every battle with her army was a new experience, and riding blind into the middle of the fray was not something she knew how to deal with. But she had to be here, to make sure she didn't lose Dong Min, and so she was more than willing to accept help in staying alive.

The group passed into the cloud and the sun disappeared. The earth pulsed irregularly beneath Azula's charging rhino, and the air was filled with cries and crashes. She could barely make out the tail of Mongke's rhino, and Vachir became a shadow dancing ahead like a ghostly guide. She held on to the reins and tried to focus on staying in position, but then a shadow swiped through the haze and Azula realized too late that a stray boulder was arcing in her direction.

She barely had time to consider throwing herself from the saddle when another shape came up from the side.

Kahchi steered his rhino right up against Azula's without even holding his reins, and swung his guan dao staff with two-handed grip to arc the blade just forward of her head. It struck the bottom edge of the boulder and smashed through the lower cap with ease, showering Azula with nothing more than dusty pebbles while the rest of the boulder sailed above her. She nodded her thanks to Kahchi and then they had to spur their rhinos forward.

When they reached the ranch house, they all leaped off their rhinos without even stopping. Yeh-Lu ran up to building's nearest wall, knocked on it once with an armored fist, and then pulled a small ball out of a pouch on his belt. Azula turned away and covered her ears, and sure enough mere seconds later there was a crack that made the air shudder, and when she looked up again the wall was now a welcoming if ragged-edged entrance. The Rough Rhinos raced in ahead of her, Kahchi still standing protectively close, and then they all found themselves in the enemy's makeshift headquarters.

Several of the armored agents were scattered around- some braced against the walls or furniture, some pushing themselves off the floor- and on the far side of the wide room was _a row of half a dozen of Azula's imposters_ all braced in combat-ready horse stances.

Then one of the enemy soldiers shouted, "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, attack!"

Each of the Victims drew a knife, but instead of using the weapons against themselves, they all readied for thrusting assaults.

Then all inferno broke loose.

Azula only had time to say, "Take the imposters alive!" before one of the soldiers punched a stone out of the dirt floor at her, and she had to throw herself to the side to avoid it. The rest was like a formal dance happening at high speed. Mongke dropped into a low stance and threw out a blaze that sizzled the armor of a soldier who was bouncing stones ineffectively off Yeh-Lu's own blast-shielding who was defending Vachir while he one-after-another shot an arrow at each Victim to pin their hands to the wooden walls and Azula tried to ignore their cries of anguish and ran forward with a flurry of attacks that made the enemy retreat from her flames while Kahchi followed through and sliced around and between the soldiers' armor plates with his guam dao but then one Victim appeared amidst the brawl and Vachir was aimed elsewhere and Azula saw the imposter angling towards Kahchi and Mongke shouted a warning but Azula couldn't burn this woman who moved like Mianju and Kahchi tried to bring his staff in line even as the knife plunged into his chest but then Yeh-Lu tackled the duplicate with his full weight and Azula growled and punched a fireball into the nearest soldier's face.

And suddenly the fight was over. Kahchi went still while Azula's target screamed inhumanly.

Azula stood in a daze. She watched as Mongke ran over to work on Kahchi's gushing wound, and only noticed out of the corner of her eye when Yeh-Lu rose up off the ground and yanked the last Victim along so that Vachir could nail her hand to the wall like all the others. She supposed she should have been upset about that, but she couldn't find a way to balance it against the knife buried to its hilt between Kahchi's ribs

When she finally looked up from the fallen, she found a new addition to the scene. A man was peeking into the room from a hall that led deeper into the house. His face was lined with age, and covered in gray stubble that terminated in a haphazardly-trimmed bush of chin hair. His eyes were wide, and he gripped the doorway with an intensity that left his knuckles white as bleached bone.

Like warming up before a hearth, Azula found her sense of reality and purpose returning. "Professor Dong Min, I presume."

* * *

Meisai gave another look through her spyglass, but it was futile. The dust cloud had drifted to block her view of the battlefield, leaving nothing to observe but the corpses that had been left outside the flying grit. She couldn't even hear the sounds of combat anymore, but at this distance it didn't necessarily mean anything definite. Still, things were likely winding down now, and if Father was right, then no matter what, Azula had found a way to get her hands on this Dong Min guy.

The man who had made her.

Meisai looked over at her own progenitor- her own Father- and found him in his usual spot crouching beside the sleeping imposters. She went over beside him, and looked down at the women. They almost looked like children, but if they were the same age as Azula herself then they too were just barely adults. "How old was I when you first found out about me?"

"First?" Father blinked. "I guess... I guess you were about a year old. I happened to be in port and had some time to myself so I went to visit your mother, and found her holding you, trying to teach you some new words. Then she said you were my daughter, and dropped you in my arms." He gave a wry smile. "Your hair wasn't any longer than it is now."

"Yeah, I've heard that story. And then you visited when you were in our part of the world, and I was always so happy when you found the time to be with me."

Father shifted his crouch to take a seat on the ground and rubbed his knees. "My life was on the seas, and your mother and I couldn't have married. It wasn't because I didn't love you."

Meisai gave a little sound that was half laugh, half snort. "Other way around. I'm trying to say that you kept coming back... really, changed your life as much as you could to be a part of mine. When I needed someplace to hide- somewhere that people wouldn't recognize me as an Army deserter, away from the rebels I was running from- I thought of you. I went to you because I knew you would change your life if I needed it. And because I wanted to be around you."

"And then I went behind your back to deal with Long Feng." Father sought her gaze, locking onto her eyes with a pleading expression. "I was only thinking of helping you, and I'm sorry I lied. I really am!"

"I know." Meisai held his stare and nodded. "I know. And that's the thing. I knew you'd upend your life for me, but I didn't realize how that would actually play out. I didn't know you as well as I thought I did. I thought that there was nothing that could make you lie to me, or manipulate me. But when I think about it, I had no reason to believe that. So..." Meisai swallowed, and then continued, "So I forgive you. Just like I forgave Azula, and forgave myself. You're my father, and... and I want to fix what we have, but I also don't want you to lie to me anymore. I want to know you and understand you, and I want you to know me and understand me. Just because we weren't together for most of our lives doesn't mean we can't find a way to be close."

Father put his arm around her shoulders, and said, "Aye. I love being a Father more than I love being a Captain. Next time, I'll try to do it the right way."

That's when they heard the approaching stomp of a komodo rhino. Meisai and her Father looked up, the observation post's guards coming to attention around them, as the Yeh-Lu brought his mount to a halt right in front of them. "The battle's over," he intoned from within his armor, "and we've got Dong Min. The Princess wants you to bring the imposters up to the ranch house. And... bring a big blanket. Kahchi didn't make it."

* * *

Dong Min's 'office' turned out to be nothing more than another dirt-floor room with weathered walls and exposed rafters. There wasn't even real furniture, just a futon and some dirty sheets bundled up in a corner, and a bunch of empty crates scattered around. In the center of the room, some of the crates had been pressed together and stacked to make something like a desk and chair. Azula couldn't help but notice that amidst the papers and books left atop the 'desk,' there was also a neat pile of sheathed knives.

The same style knives with which the Victims had tried to kill themselves.

The same style knife with which Azula had tried to slit her own throat, when Long Feng's programing had hijacked her body.

Azula felt a stab of fear rip into her heart as the door to the office swung closed behind her. She couldn't help but think that this might be a mistake, meeting alone, nothing but a candle and her Firebending for protection, with the man who had not only wiped out a lifetime of her memories, but also helped Long Feng and Ozai turn her into the world's most reviled fugitive. Could he, with a single word, activate some programming buried deep in her mind and turn her into a living automaton again? Could he bring back the soulless monster who had killed the Earth King and raised a knife to her own throat? Could he just make her whole mind go away, and leave her as nothing more than a menial slave that depended on orders for purpose?

Alone in that room with her creator, Azula realized how very fragile she actually was.

Then Dong Min turned to her from across his makeshift desk, where he had immediately retreated like it was some kind of sanctuary, and spoke in a wavering tone. "I understand that you want to kill me, and you have every reason, but I beg you not to. Please. I'll do whatever it is you want."

And with that, Azula was immediately able to shake off the shackles of her own fears. Dong Min was terrified of her. Even if he had a weapon- literal or figurative- to use against her, she had already defeated such things. She had emerged from her identity of Suki to become Azula once again. She had resisted Long Feng's programmed order to kill herself, had healed the fractures in her own thoughts by journeying within and surviving her own personal chaos. She had overcome her desire to just go away and let the world sort itself out, and emerged now as the leader of the only army trying to truly solve the problems in the colonies. Nothing this man could do was any threat to her.

She was Azula, Princess of Fire.

Azula stood up straight in her armor and examined Dong Min like a spiderfly she had found in her soup. "I think we're a little past the point where your survival is an issue. Let me tell you a bit about your current place in the world. You've been working with Long Feng, a criminal who betrayed both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation for his own personal gain. Specifically, you helped Long Feng provoke me into criminal acts on Kyoshi Island and in the Independent Former Colonies, and programmed me to kill the Earth King. Not to mention, you purposefully undermined the work you had done for the Avatar and the Fire Lord on my mind, and undermined the repairs you had done on the women who called themselves Joo Dee. Was that work why the Earth King hadn't put you death in the first place?"

Dong Min nodded shakily.

"Well. So much for _that_ deal. So in the world's two most powerful nations, you are guilty of treason, and that mandates death. This time, given your lack of reliability, there will be no deals in exchange for your skills." Azula set her candle down hard on the makeshift desk. "But let's say you find a way to live. Maybe here in the colonies, or you could even run for one of the Water Tribes. Perhaps you could even find a way to hide right under the noses of the Fire Lord or the new Earth King." She leaned forward, to stare down at Dong Min like a swooping raptor. "But wait, you already did that, didn't you? And your knowledge made you so dangerous, so _desirable_, that you were tracked down and enslaved anyway. And that was just when Long Feng and a few others knew of you. Knowledge of your craft has been _spreading._ So my question to you is... just what makes you think you're going to live more than a year at most no matter what I decide to do with you?"

Silence stretched out to answer Azula's question, until Dong Min let out a sigh that was half sob, and slumped down onto the his crate. Azula stood back up, and couldn't help but feel a little revulsion. _This_was the man who destroyed and rebuilt her? This was the one with the power of death and creation? Dong Min should have been like a god, but instead, he was barely even a man.

Eventually, he worked up the strength to speak, although he had to fit his words around his quiet whimpering. "I just... I never wanted to do any of it, I just wanted to... go away... once I realized that even the Avatar and the Earth King couldn't resist my knowledge. I wanted to stay far away from everyone! Not just Long Feng! But... I didn't want to die... I didn't... I didn't want them to hurt me... I only started because I thought the knowledge could help people, and... I tried to learn from what they made me... they made me..."

Azula laid a hand down on his head, and waited for him to look up at her. "There comes a point," she said, "where we have to resist our fear, or end up a slave to it."

It was a long time before Dong Min found his voice again. "What are you going to do with me?"

Azula stepped back and crossed her arms. It was time to truly go to work. "Turn you into a weapon, just like everyone else. I want information that I can use to find and kill Long Feng, and wreck his plans. I want to fix The Victims. Uh, the women who you turned into duplicates of me."

"Yes." Dong Min let out a heavy breath. "Yes, I can do that. I know where all the duplicates have been deployed, the ones who still live, and while they will take much work to deprogram, they can be immediately shut down with a control phrase. It will leave them in a stupor, and then they will follow any command addressing them as 'Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.' That's not a manifestation of their identity, that's just the control key. Long Feng specified it."

"And then... can they be fixed?"

"Fixed?"

Azula swallowed. "Can their old selves be restored? To back before Long Feng turned them into me?"

"Oh. Oh, you think they can just be..." He shook his head. "Long Feng killed all those women. Twice, actually. He killed the women I created under the Earth King's and the Avatar's orders, and he killed the women they were in Ba Sing Se when the Dai Li first arrested them. The brainwashing that removes memories destroys them completely. There might be some echoes of the old identities, like a name or familiarity with a home, but bringing that out will only be destructive to the patients' sanity. If it's possible, it's beyond all the knowledge of either Ba Sing Se University or the Fire Nation's best private researchers. And that's not even getting into the physical restructuring done to their bodies. I don't remember what they used to look like, and I would have known them best. Those women are gone. Gone forever."

Azula had to remind herself to breathe.

So.

That was that.

Dong Min was talking about The Victims, but she knew that he was talking about _all_ his victims. Including her.

The true Princess Azula was dead. Forever.

And she had failed in her vow to truly free The Victims, failed even before she knew they existed. All she could do now was give them a new start, and avenge them. "And Long Feng? What is his plan? Why has he had the imposters siccing their goons on everyone they could find?"

"To turn you into the villain. To make people so afraid of you- and so angry at you- that they'll do anything to get rid of you. Anything, in this case, being giving power to a fugitive who turned Ba Sing Se into a gilded cage. I've heard him rehearsing his speeches. He will present himself as a servant, but it will be in a way that he can draw power to himself."

"Speeches?" This was the first Azula heard of that aspect of Long Feng's plan. He had claimed to her back in his secret cave hideout that he was going to simply hand power over to a coalition of governors and... what were they called... industrialists. Azula figured that to be a lie, but what would speeches have to do with that? "Who is he giving speeches to?"

"Yu Dao. The people gathering there. That's where everyone is meeting to turn the colonies into a nation. He's going to play all sides against each other, and use popular opinion to force them to hand him power. He will be able to control them all."

Azula gave Dong Min a hard look. "I think you'd better start from the beginning. What are Long Feng's full plans, and what does he need to accomplish them?"

* * *

That night, Azula dreamed vividly. She was a heron, flying over an ocean, searching for distant shores where she could finally rest. Flying was easy, and even though she felt like she had been in the air for time beyond count, she was not tired. Her wings had the strength to take her as far as she needed.

It was the fire that was causing the problem.

The tips of her wingfeathers were burning, the flames slowly creeping up towards her body. Yet before they could burn her, the feathers would come loose in the wind of her flight to flutter enkindled down to the waters.

As they fell, the feathers screamed with unique voices.

She recognized the scream of Captain Ahou. She recognized Kahchi's deep timber. She recognized the screeches, so like her own, of the Victims. There were more besides, and she was responsible for their cries.

When she awoke the next morning, she knew exactly what had given her such a nightmare. After she had gotten all the intricate details of Long Feng's grand plan from Dong Min, Azula had gone on to ask, "And what about me? Or rather, the duplicates. What was going to happen to them?"

As he had explained everything, Dong Min had calmed, growing more confident in his speech. Azula supposed it was a quality of the way his mind worked. He was so lost when it came to surviving in a complicated world, but when he could focus on information and analysis, he was in his element. In response to her question, he had given a sardonic smile and said, "I think you already know the answer. To solidify his power, Long Feng needs to prove his claims to greatness. He needs to produce your corpse, or if that's unavailable, the corpse of someone who looks just like you."

"Easier said than done. I have an army now. Long Feng's strength is soft."

Dong Min lost his smile, and once again his eyes grew wide. "Don't be so sure of that. The governors are on his leash, and they can give him soldiers. And he's hunting you even now. He dispatched Shingyung to deal with you, and she has a shirshu that can track you by smell. She could arrive any minute, and she's far more dangerous than you can imagine."

Azula had shrugged. "She's just one Waterbender. I'm actually looking forward to our rematch."

"Do not let yourself become overconfident with her. She might just be a Waterbender, but the Fire Nation turned her into a living weapon! She's a master of the combat forms of the Northern Water Tribe, and she has an affinity for her element's healing powers. She can fight well enough to pose a danger to even someone on the Avatar's level, and can immediately repair any of her own wounds. And she's especially dangerous to _you._"

"Me?"

"She's _obsessed_ with you," Dong Min hissed. "Your lives have more parallels than you will ever know, and when the war ended and details of your... defeat... became public, Shingyung became fixated on you. Both of you were manipulated as children and hardened by abuse, but your father was a master of subtlety compared to what was done to done her. To deal with pain, and the self-loathing she felt as a result, she used you as a symbol."

Azula shook her head. "I don't understand. How am I supposed to figure out what you're talking about if I can't even remember my own childhood?"

Dong Min gave a full-body shudder. "It's better that you don't know. Freeing you of the memories of your father's influence was the foundation of healing your mind, and Shingyung's experiences were far worse. She saw you- before I changed you- as a kindred spirit and someone to admire, but also a way to sublimate her own self-loathing. Her worst responses to the traumas in her childhood have only been encouraged, especially by Long Feng, and she is eager to resolve her relationship with you as violently as possible. Whatever you do, you _must not_ engage her in personal combat!"

Azula began to understand what he was implying, and the fires of her anger stirred in response. "Don't act so high and mighty about this. Not when you helped turn me into _Sokka's toy!_"

"What?" He shrank back, and his face tightened again. "What do you mean?"

Azula stepped forward and loomed over her maker. "I saw Sokka's notes, back in Long Feng's base. He came up with a character for me to become, his ideal woman who he could take as a lover. I _still_ have feelings for him that I can't get rid of! I push them back and try to forget but they still _hurt!_"

"You... you think he did that on purpose?" And at that, Dong Min smiled in a way very similar to Uncle Iroh. "Princess, Sokka is many things, and a very impressive man in his own way, but he completely lacks foresight. I worked with him to refine his ideas, starting from the very earliest stages of your treatment. He wanted to create a Kyoshi Warrior who could fit into the island's history and society, and he wanted to fit you into a role that he thought would make you happy. He fell in love with you completely by accident, and he resisted for as long as possible. As smart as he is, when it comes to interpersonal relationships, he is very much a dolt."

"You're... saying he just... fell in love with a madwoman? A child with no history?"

"You were pitiable, even before I started my work, and your emerging strength and personality captivated him." Dong Min sat up straighter and looked Azula directly in the eyes. "He's the reason you're alive today. He and the Fire Lord saw, the way your mind was crushed by your defeats and the loss of your Firebending, that you would either die or lose your sanity forever. They felt that extreme intervention was required, despite their misgivings, and Sokka devoted all his powers towards coming up with an ideal solution." He sat back on his crate, and his eyes lost focus. "It's like the myth of the sculptor who fell in love with his statue, and then it was turned to a living woman by a Spirit. In creating you, in understanding you down to your deepest level, he fell in love with you as completely as a man possibly can."

Azula couldn't bring herself to move, couldn't even decide how she felt about all of that. She just stood there, stunned, until a dark thought floated up from the depths of her conscious, a truth that hissed from her mouth with a bitter conviction she didn't realize she had within her. "Except the sculptor already had a love for the clay he worked. Sokka felt only revulsion and pity for what I had been. A sculptor shapes the clay, but Sokka and you both destroyed the real Azula, and built a guess at what she would be like with none of her faults or weaknesses. And, curiously enough, your sculpture broke apart and an altogether different woman emerged from the wreckage." She stepped back and growled, "You and Sokka aren't artists. You're vandals of human lives."

Azula immediately turned and stomped from the room, but hesitated at the door. "You have paper in here, ink, and a brush. I'm not letting you out of this room until you've produced a complete list of where all my duplicates have been deployed and instructions on how to deprogram them. Then we'll talk about what I'm going to do- or not do- to you."

She had glanced back at Dong Min to find him staring at her with wide eyes. Instead of shaking or slumping or shifting, he was profoundly still, like a dusty and forgotten statue.

Sneering with disgust, Azula marched out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Meisai and Toru were waiting on the other side, and at the sight of them, Azula's facade had finally broken down. She didn't know what to do or say, but then Meisai- masculine, tough Meisai- stepped forward and wrapped Azula in a hug. "It's okay," she had said. "It's just us three. Take all the time you need."

And Azula did.

Now, though she was haunted by both her nightmare and the previous day's interview, it was time for Azula to confront Dong Min once again and make sure he was giving her what she wanted. Sure enough, when she unlocked his door and stepped into his office, the light of the rising sun streamed past Azula and fell on thick stacks of handwritten notes arranged neatly on the crates he used as a desk.

The light continued to crawl forward as the door swung, and then Azula what else had been left for her. Behind the desk, Dong Min's body swung lazily in the air, suspended from the ground by the sheets of his futon.

They stretched from the rafters to his neck.

* * *

It was a somber meeting over breakfast. Azula, the surviving Rough Rhinos, Toru, and Meisai were assembled at a wobbly table in the same where Kahchi had died. A sheet had been nailed over the hole in the wall that Yeh-Lu's bomb had created, and a pot of jook was left simmering over a small fire built right on the dirt floor.

"Before we begin," Azula said, "I want to take a moment to acknowledge Kahchi's loss. He saved my life yesterday, and served the Fire Nation with unquestionable loyalty throughout his career. Some might criticize his desertion after Zuko was crowned, but I have no doubt that it was loyalty that guided him in that decision as well." She didn't say anything about the crimes he was said to have committed before and after the war. Azula didn't have the strength to reconcile that right now.

Mongke nodded heavily. "Thank you, Princess. We'll be lighting the pyre as soon as we're done here."

"Then let's get things started." She looked around at her advisors, and pushed her grief and failures out of her mind. "We have achieved a major objective, despite our losses, and Dong Min has given us several leads that will allow us to make major steps in our wider goals. We can save the women who have been forcibly turned into imposters of me. Mongke, I want you to take temporary command of our army, and visit each of the locations I will supply to rescue my duplicates. You can use a control phrase to make them docile, and then you'll bring them to your steamer for safekeeping. One of you should be able to look after them there until it's time for our rendezvous."

Mongke glanced at the other Rough Rhinos, and then turned back to Azula. "We can do that, but those imposters are all in command of rebel fighters, yeah? Without your face and your blue fire, they won't fall into line so easily."

"True, but we're running out of time. I'm authorizing you to use all necessary force in achieving your objectives, but hopefully you won't have to do much fighting. The rebel commanders we recruited can vouch for us both, and being able to shut down their own 'Princess Azulas' is a good bit of proof. It won't be easy, but it's necessary."

"Then we'll get it done. The Rough Rhinos are all in. But what about you?"

Azula looked to Meisai and Toru, and gave them a small smile. "My friends, if you'll come with me, I need to deal with some unfinished business. Dong Min revealed that Long Feng has dispatched an especially dangerous assassin after me. Rather than let her nip at my heels, I've decided to deal with the problem as soon as possible. And I have a plan to trap her."

Meisai sat up straight in her seat. "I'm with you. And Daddy is, too."

"Aye. If we're talking about that Shingyung gal, I wouldn't mind helping to take her out. She's as nasty as they get."

"Thank you. All of you." Azula stood up, and took a deep breath. "There's a good chance, as we enter the endgame, that something might... happen to keep me from completing the mission. Because of that, I need you all to watch this, so that you can do it yourselves. Bring in the two imposters."

Yeh-Lu and Vachir got up to leave the room, and quickly returned, each dragging along one of The Victims. They were awake now, and struggled against their bonds, but the Rough Rhinos had firm holds on them. Azula looked upon them, and couldn't help but be reminded of the first Victim, poor Mianju. Azula hadn't been able to save her, and even after all this time and growth she had failed with Dong Min and lost a valuable resource. But she was Azula, and no amount of losses would be enough to shake her from her path, now.

All that was left to do here was speak the control phrase that Dong Min had written down. "Less than perfect," Azula enunciated carefully, "is less than acceptable."

The Victims immediately went still, and all signs of stress left their expressions. They simply stood in place, and placed their lives in Azula's hands.

She sighed with relief that it had worked. "Good. Now, we need to discuss the details of our endgame. It's time for our enemies to fall."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	25. Duel of the Fates

**Duel of the Fates**

Shingyung was on the hunt.

She was on a mission of death, tasked with chasing down the most dangerous, most wonderful, most twisted woman in the entire world. The true Princess Azula had been destroyed by her enemies, but her body and most natural instincts still walked the world as a woman, and Shingyung craved her pain and attention. They had scuffled a few times before, but the coming fight would be to the death, the most exquisite intertwining of lives possible. It would be the best kind of physical love. Shingyung had never been so happy, never felt more alive, and she wanted to howl at the moon as she was carried along on her chase. The shirshu she rode was much more reserved about the whole affair, but then, it had no personal investment in this little outing. As far as Shingyung was concerned, it was nothing more than an ill-tempered servant, and like all servants the beast needed punishment and molding to be useful The suffering that resulted was like a fine wine to Shingyung. She could relate to suffering, and it was the true path to the most beautiful understandings the world had to offer.

The first place they visited was the port town of Maiha. The shirshu started on the docks, and followed the scent-trail straight out of town. From there the shirshu struck off northeast at a good pace, and for some reason the trail remained fairly straight and mostly ignored the roads. Shingyung thought it odd that she encountered none of Long Feng's industrious little agitators, but she had her mission and put all other concerns out of her mind. She had been _promised_ this chance, and nothing would detract from it.

When she arrived in Geum Gwuang and found Dai Li Agent Nuo Fu's base and communications center half-demolished and ransacked, though, Shingyung could no longer deny her worry. How had Azula found that place?

When Shingyung followed the scent-trail to the ranch where Dong Min was supposed to be reprogramming and deploying new waves of Azula duplicates, and found nothing but _fields of graves_, things had gone beyond worry. What was happening? What did that filthy little shadow think she was playing at?

And then Shingyung rode her shirshu further along the trail, and her state of mind started blossoming into outright paranoia when she realized what she was traveling towards.

Yang City. Her own base of operations.

She tried to deny it, but sure enough, the shirshu did not turn from its path, and soon the city itself rose into view on the horizon. Shingyung just sat in the saddle, savoring the paranoid swirling of her mind as she was carried into the city in the light of the setting sun, and glorified in the lightness of her head and the pounding of her heart. The sensations reached a crescendo when the shirshu stopped in front of her own massage parlor, scaring away the pedestrians, and came to a rest like it had finally reached its destination. This, then, was where Azula had supposedly ended the most recent leg of her journey. As she was nowhere in sight, she must be inside the building itself. Night had fallen by now, with a full moon glowing and caressing above, and the darkened parlor was like a Spirit Cave from the old legends. Shingyung dismounted, but stayed out in the street.

Needless to say, this was a trap. Shingyung _craved_ Azula's presence, and could feel the compulsion to dash into the building boiling in her blood, but she had not come so far in life by acting without thinking. She thought in ways that were different than most, but she still considered everything with great care and judgment. That was what she had been taught, and that was what made her so valuable to Long Feng.

So instead, Shingyung did a little twirl and laughed. "Oh, Azula. You are such a delight! Even when you're not really you, you're still so _exquisite._ Just when I think Dong Min killed the true Princess, you pleasure me by killing him right back! I should have known that balance would assert itself." She shimmied closer to one of the shuttered windows, and shouted so that she would be heard inside. "I'm so glad you decided to wait for me. Our meeting is the culmination of our lives, and it thrills me to know that you want it every bit as much as I! But my hunger for the sight of you, the smell of you, is not so great that I will let you ambush me. I can wait." She spun in place and went back over to where the shirshu was resting, throwing a little extra saunter into it, and kneeled down right there in the empty street, unmindful of her nice silk dress. "Don't make me wait too long." She closed her eyes and started a simple meditation, sure that Azula would soon reply.

Shingyung wasn't expecting the building to just _explode_ like that, and couldn't stop the force of the blast from knocking her to sprawl out in the street, chasing the shirshu away.

The roof of the massage parlor had burst open to expel fire and debris, but the rest of the building collapsed inward like an egg being crushed in hand. The fire spread quickly to consume the whole ruins, but strangely didn't jump from that single lot despite the proximity of the other buildings. Shingyung heard the shouts and cries of her neighbors as they responded to the firebombing, but she only had eyes for the shadow stalking through the flames.

It was Azula-shaped, and oh so exquisite.

Grinning so hard her face hurt, Shingyung rose and flicked the caps off of her four water skins. She licked her lips and called out, "Ready?"

Azula- beautiful, delicious, seductive, infuriating, glorious, and looking pleasingly like her _old_ self in proper Fire Nation armor despite the lack of topknot- passed through the last of the fire to stand opposite Shingyung in the street. The Princess pulled a pair of objects out of her belt with both hands, and an instant later, snapped open a pair of golden war fans that shone with a mix of the lights of the moon and the fire.

"Ready."

* * *

Although Kyoshi Island was nowhere near as old as such pillars of Earth Kingdom civilization as Ba Sing Se or Omashu, it was exerting increasing influence on the post-war world, and its short history was a fascinating study of intercultural influence. Indeed, the fighting style practiced by the Islanders was by itself a microcosm of the various cultural trends that the island had experienced.

Though originally a coastal settlement at the southeastern tip of the Earth Kingdom, Avatar Kyoshi's hometown did not see much contact with the Southern Water Tribe in its early existence. The 'Southern Islands' such as Whale Tail and Kangaroo were as far as the Water Tribe ships liked to sail, and so they served as the cultural gateway between Earth and Water. It wasn't until Avatar Kyoshi created a new island and pushed her hometown out to sea that the settlement rose to prominence as a sovereign trading port. Very quickly, the newly renamed Kyoshi Island became a fishing and trading hub, and since it produced very few Earthbenders even in those days, the Water Tribe's primary fighting style and manner of dueling rose as fads amongst the island's natives. The fighting style, called Kavisilaq, displayed staying power, coming to replace the Earthbender-derived arts as the self-defense of choice for the Islanders. However, at the time Kyoshi Island was still not producing any of its own Waterbenders, so the use drifted away from its roots and slowly became a variant focused more on non-Benders and simple civilian self-defense.

It wasn't until early in the life of Avatar Roku that the next major change came about. Roku himself was still a young man learning Airbending when he and a monk friend from the Southern Air Temple named Gyatso came on a pilgrimage to Kyoshi Island (although Gyatso, an eventual Master and Elder of his people, confided in his personal journals that the trip was really meant to be more of "a vacation from those tucked-robes who can't see the genius of Air-surfing"). While there, Roku and Gyatso assisted the Islanders in a long-running but recently escalated conflict with a local pirate group. The pair of Benders convinced the Kyoshi Disciples to forsake their vows of pacifism and join in the defense of the island, teaching them some Airbending-derived techniques so that they could fight without heavily injuring their opponents. After their victory, the Kyoshi Disciples admitted that they had lost their way and broken from Avatar Kyoshi's influence as represented by her reincarnation Roku, and vowed to henceforth protect their home as a kind of paramilitary force. After Roku and Gyatso left, the newly renamed Kyoshi Warriors further developed their fighting arts, mixing the Water Tribe-style practiced by the other Islanders with the Airbending principles that they themselves had learned, eventually culminating in a new style they called Aikido.

The Kyoshi Warriors adapted the style, over the next two centuries, to include the use of Avatar Kyoshi's traditional weapons, the war fans. Later, trade with the Fire Nation's Outer Islands introduced the thin, curved 'katana' swords to the island, and the Kyoshi Warriors adopted that weapon as well. The locals, meanwhile, found Aikido to be very appealing as method of self-defense, although they mostly only learned the unarmed forms.

Aikido was refined throughout the war with the Fire Nation to stand as its own distinct fighting style, but was able to come full circle by the end of the war when Kyoshi Island was visited by Avatar Aang and his companions, among them Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. Both boys learned from the Kyoshi Warriors, and adapted aspects of Aikido into their own fighting ways, with Avatar Aang even using war fans to enhance his Airbending several times. However, Aikido otherwise did not spread much beyond the shores of Kyoshi Island, being so counter in philosophy and movement to the fighting styles of the world's most dominant cultures, the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. This was even despite Kyoshi Island's friendship with Fire Lord Zuko after the war ended, for the aggressive nature of the Fire Nation's fighting arts were believed to be completely incompatible with Aikido's roots.

This was eventually proven wrong by Zuko's infamous sister, Princess Azula.

* * *

Azula had hoped that Shingyung would blunder into the massage parlor and die in the firebombing, but she had to admit that a little part of her was actually looking forward to beating the Waterbender into submission. After Mianju the Victim, all the manipulations, the manner of June's death, and the ambush in Long Feng's base, Azula very much wanted to see Shingyung _hurt._ Although it would have been so much easier if the explosives she had borrowed from Yeh-Lu could have finished things in a single blast, Azula's backup plan had been in the making for a long time and boasted a number of personal perks.

Shingyung started things by streaming out the most common and versatile Waterbending attack, a lashing tendril. The tip whipped forward faster than the speed of sound, meaning that the water itself would feel more like stone when it actually struck, but instead of waiting to block or dodge it, Azula swept one of her war fans up in a simple slicing motion.

Behind Azula, the fires of the burning parlor responded to her call.

The inferno spat out a flat arch of flames that expanded out as it traveled. It pulsed out just above Azula's head and kept going until it intercepted the stream of water. The ring of fire sliced through the liquid tendril in several places before both exploded into a cluster of steam bursts.

Kyoshi-style Firebending. If Azula was right, it would be especially effective against Waterbending.

So she went on the offensive.

Azula held her position but began a dance that anyone who had visited the old Kyoshi Warrior training dojo would have recognized. It resembled a kata in execution, but it was no rote exercise. Azula tailored each move to a specific strategy. She flicked out her fans in a series of movements that probably made it look like she was swatting spiderflies, but the burning building responded by pumping out fireballs as tall as Azula herself to fly past her towards the Waterbender. Shingyung dodged by going into a circling run that didn't seem at all hampered by her stupid purple dress, and waved out more tendrils from her water supply in an attempt to get the initiative back. Azula just shifted her movements to sweeps of her fans that summoned more of the expanding fire arches. They sliced through the water constructs at multiple points and completely compromised the structural integrity, turning them to steam easily.

Then Azula raised both her fans above her head and brought them swinging down with her arms fully extended. The fires behind her rose and swirled together to form a massive tendril, not unlike Shingyung's waterwhip, that lashed about and scattered tongues of flame all over the street. Azula heard screams from the darkness beyond the immediate battlefield, but none sounded pained, so she ignored them. The sooner she finished this battle, the better for everyone. Slicing the air in front of her with her fans, she directed the fire-whip to strike at Shingyung on an intercept with her running. The Waterbender tried to switch direction, but wasn't quite fast enough; the fire whip struck the ground near her and exploded into heat, sending Shingyung tumbling. As she skidded across the ground, small tendrils of water sprung out from her form and flowed out in front of her, solidifying into a small ramp of ice. Azula flung out more fireballs, but Shingyung managed to get upright within her skid and began surfing the ice-ramp with considerable speed.

Something about that seemed familiar to Azula, but she ignored it and concentrated on her attacks.

Shingyung slid past another wave of fire bursts but scooped downward as she surfed, and then flicked her hand to send pieces of her ice flying out as frozen razors aimed straight for Azula's head.

Azula pulled flames past her with a summoning wave of one of her fans, and then flicked it up again to turn the fire into a wall that melted the ice-daggers away. She let the small blaze dissipate and searched around for Shingyung, only to find her bearing down from Azula's left side. Azula quickly shifted to a defensive stance and brought her fans up, as Shingyung's ice-board liquefied and flowed up her tall body to cover her arms while she continued forward at a run. The water-arms immediately launched into a lashing attack, and as they closed in on Azula the tips turned to ice and sprung spikes, but Azula was already in motion herself, bending Fire out of her own body this time. The flames extended from the fans and acted like extensions of the golden weapons, flapping out to heat the icy weapons and weaken them so that the blows of the metal war fans shattered them easily. She flowed through the old defensive cycle she drilled relentlessly on Kyoshi Island, surrendering to its efficiency and focusing on the increasingly thin and weak water-arms, each blunted attack losing more water to Azula's heat.

Finally, with a triumphant yell and one last burst of flame, Azula shoved her fans forward and exploded the last of the water into vapor.

Even before the steam dissipated, though, Shingyung was already running off down the street like her backside was on fire. Azula tried to turn that simile into reality with another set of fireballs, but the Waterbender dodged around one of the massage parlor's neighboring buildings and broke from Azula's line of sight.

So, Shingyung had figured out that she needed to get Azula away from her helpful little inferno. She also was probably hoping to find more water.

Well, they couldn't have _that._ Azula ran off after her enemy.

* * *

As infamous as the animals were, Toru had never seen a shirshu before, and he would have been content to continue his life along those lines.

Azula had brought him and Meisai along to help set up the explosives in Shingyung's massage parlor and provide any other assistance that was needed, but the plan seemed to be in the bilge now that the Waterbender hadn't walked into their trap. As soon as Azula had walked off through the flames of the parlor's wreckage to confront Shingyung, Toru had turned to his daughter in their hideout across the street. "What now? Are we supposed to help her?"

But Meisai was already putting her attention elsewhere, stretching her arms out in front of her and breathing like she was meditating. "Gotta keep flames contained," she said between breaths. "Can't let them spread. Neighborhood would burn. You help Azula. Do what you can."

So Toru went off to try, but quickly realized that there wasn't much he could add to the proceedings. Azula and Shingyung were going at it like warriors from some ancient legend, and Toru just knew enough about fighting to defend himself against pirates. What was he going to do, run up to Shingyung and hit her over the head?

Then Toru remembered the animal she had ridden in on, the shirshu. It had taken off when the parlor exploded, retreating down one of the streets leading deeper into this maze of a neighborhood, but maybe it would be back to help ambush Azula? Toru wasn't especially good with animals, but he had worked docks and ships all his life, and had helped various Fire Nation circuses with their travels, a few times. Maybe he could do something with the shirshu.

So he had followed its tracks in the dirt streets, and found it huddled and whimpering in a dead-end alley about a ways from the fight. Its dark fur almost disappeared in the shadows of the corner where it had shoved itself, where the light of the full moon was blocked by the alley walls. Toru knew shirshus by reputation, and had even seen one, one time at a distance, but something about this animal seemed off. It didn't act defensive as Toru approached; it just whined and writhed a bit in the stinking filth that covered the ground. Had Shingyung been abusing it? That seemed probable, from what Toru knew of her, but then why was the shirshu still staying so close? Why not just head for the horizon?

"Ahoy," he said in his most soothing tone, like he was speaking to a scared child. "I'm not going to hurt you. Here, are you hungry?" He fished the last of his personal jerky supply from his belt pouch and slowly placed it down on the cleanest spot her could find on ground, then backed up so that he was no longer blocking the entrance to the alley.

The shirshu stayed still for a moment, and then came forward to sniff at the jerky. When it backed up again, Toru figured his peace offering had fallen flat, but the shirshu snapped out its tongue with a noise like a whip, and a second later it was chewing enthusiastically on the captured jerky.

Toru smiled in the night air.

* * *

Azula had been expecting Shingyung to run as far as she could, so she was quite surprised when she turned a corner found herself in a small plaza with her quarry. There were a number of people milling around the square holding buckets, but Azula spotted the tall Waterbender's ponytail sticking up from behind a cluster of people. Azula raised a one of her Kyoshi fans above her head and channeled a small fire blast through it to briefly light up the night. "Out of the way! There's a danger criminal-"

Even before she was done with her warning, the people all scattered and ran for shelter, and Azula was left to see Shingyung finishing what looked like some kind of Waterbending movement, culminating in a motion that raised both of her hands above her head. Then Azula saw, in the bright moonlight, what Shingyung had been standing next to the whole time.

It was a _water pump_, buried low in the ground at the center of the plaza.

Ash and Unagi breath.

The ground sang like a dying camelephant, then broke apart with force that would have impressed even Toph. Azula's view of Shingyung was suddenly blocked by the _river_ that had exploded up from the center of the plaza.

Azula backed up as fast as she could but the water traveled even faster and she was nearly knocked off her feet by the force of the flow. She stumbled back against a ramshackle house, and water lapped up all around her to soak up to her knees. Azula looked back to the source, still streaming with all the foam and force of a rapids, and realized what Shingyung had unleashed. It was one of the city's underground aqueducts. Cities like Yang had such large populations living in them that nothing but the world's greatest rivers could supply enough water, so the architects of the Earth Kingdom had devised underground tunnels that would slope up and down in such a way as to let the water's own momentum carry it long distances. The Fire Nation had learned well from the canals and ducts it captured, and used the same principles to supply its own colonial cities.

And now Shingyung had turned them to her own use. It was a trap; it had to be. Shingyung had known that an aqueduct was buried beneath the plaza, such a short distance from her massage parlor. She had led Azula here, away from the burning building, to this unquenchable supply of water.

Azula was starting to grasp that she might have made a small tactical error.

She immediately tried run back the way she came, but slipped in the mud that the street had been turned into and nearly fell face-first into the streaming water. She grabbed at the building she had been leaning against and pulled herself back to her feet. She was just considering trying to climb up to escape via the rooftop when she heard a shift in the noise of the rushing water and instinctively threw herself backwards into the wider plaza. A full wave of water crashed down where Azula had been standing, pounding the home with enough force to collapse the wall and bring the roof down.

The force sent heavy ripples through the water. The plaza was starting to look more like a lake now. Was the water naturally being damned up? Or-

"We've played with fire for long enough, I think," came Shingyung's breathy, sing-song voice. Azula turned to find the Waterbender standing with hands on her hips a distance away. "Welcome to _my_ world, my delicious little pet."

Azula, of course, flicked her fans to bat out a flurry of fireballs, but a quick swish of Shingyung's hand was enough to raise a wave of water large enough to fully block and quench them. By the time the swell was allowed to fall again, Shingyung had taken a proper Waterbending stance.

She met Azula's stare and gave a laugh that dripped with easy confidence.

Azula was starting to give thought more to _surviving_ this fight than winning it. She had blundered into this trap, and her retreats were cut off. Like a Firebender, like a Kyoshi Warrior, she had to face her opponent and meet offense with offense. She tried dashing at Shingyung, but even though she stepped carefully to account for the mud and moving water, it was slow going. She managed to get a kind of wide-legged run going when the Waterbender finally deigned to react. After a single flick of motion on Shingyung's part, Azula suddenly found herself at the center of a hailstorm.

Her armor deflected some of the flying ice flechettes but that only protected her chest and limbs, leaving her midriff and joints covered only by flexible leather, and the ice was sharp enough to punch right through that material. She brought her armored forearms up to protect her face, and then took a Kyoshi Aikido stance and brought her war fans into play. She snapped them out to cover her face and middle, making for a symphony of ice tinkling against metal, and then when she thought she had the pattern of the attack, she broke into further motion. With each step, she moved one fan back to provide defense while whipping the other out to unfurl a wave of flame meant to melt the incoming flechettes. However, she was standing knee deep in an artificial lake, under the full moon, and was soaking wet from her earlier dive. The fires that unfurled like wings from her fans were far smaller and thinner than those she had made back at the burning massage parlor.

It just wasn't enough. One half-melted razor managed to get past her defenses to scratch deeply along the back of her left hand, and another nicked her chin. This was still a losing proposition unless she could get closer, quickly.

Azula would simply have to get creative.

She started another awkward dash towards the distant Shingyung, holding her fans out in front of her to block the bulk of the razor hail and ignoring the rest that bit into her skin, and then began breathing as fast and deeply as she could manage without hyperventilating. On her fifth step, she turned her exhalation into a shouted _kiai_ and pushed her Qi down through her body into her feet, swinging her arms out to the side like the wings of a hawk. Fire exploded from the soles of her boots, and Azula rose up through the water. A few steps later, she was running _atop_ the water. Just two steps later, she was rocketing across the water like a Fire Nation jet ski.

Azula swerved out of the razor hailstorm and began spiraling in towards where Shingyung had taken a position at the center of the plaza beside the still-surging aqueduct. Shingyung immediately extended her arms and began moving in a slow dance, and the surface of the 'lake' responded by churning and peaking like waves in the ocean. Azula skipped over them like as easily as a sailboat but the motion delayed her enough to allow Shingyung to grab at the water at her feet and pull out larger icicle shapes with unmistakably fine points.

Azula got a very good look at them when they started flying towards her.

One bounced off Azula's chest armor, and another two missed when she swerved around them, but a fourth was aimed right where Azula's head was angled, and she had to twitch to the side to keep the icicle from punching right into her skull. It was close enough that it still caught her skin, a sting that melted into the sticky warmth of blood. Then Azula was finally close to Shingyung, and she brought her arms up to launch some fireballs, but the Waterbender threw her own arms wide and the water retreated instantly from beneath Azula's feet.

Suddenly she was less rocketing across the surface of a lake than skidding face-first into the mucky ground.

When Azula rose, her vision clouded with a mix of mud and the blood leaking from her forehead, Shingyung was waiting for her with a sword of ice in each hand. Cold water once more rushed into settle just below Azula's knees, and Shingyung said, "It seems first blood goes to me, if such a thing has any value." She swung her swords up and crossed them in front of her. "First or last, I'll take your delicious blood any way I can get it. Come, Princess Azula, let's test your shiny fans against my frigid fangs." Then she giggled and struck like a viper, stabbing out with both her swords, and Azula had to bring her fans up too quickly to even consider calling for any fire. Azula's training let her deflect the blades to the sides, but Shingyung spun in place to slice again with her right sword. Azula tried to duck beneath it, but the other sword came up in a cross swing that took both war fans to block.

Even with weapons, Shingyung fought like a Waterbender, flowing all her attacks together into a chain that hammered at Azula's defenses with the relentlessness of the surf against a shore. Azula was limited to retreating only a step at a time thanks to the water and mud weighing down her boots, and couldn't find an opportunity to make an attack of her own. If she wanted a shot at Shingyung, she'd have to sacrifice something to get it.

Well, that was doable.

When Shingyung tried another stab with her left sword, Azula allowed it pass between her fans and took the strike fully on her breastplate. The force of the blow pounded her chest painfully and she was worried for a moment that it had punched through, but then she heard the metallic scraping and realized that the rounded design of the armor was working as intended, guiding the tip of the sword to scrape along to the side instead of piercing the plate. Azula pushed forward, knocking Shingyung's other sword out of line with her left fan, and then brought her right fan up to pound the side Shingyung's head like she was swinging a hammer. She let loose a _kiai_ and burst of Qi as she struck, and was rewarded with a little pop of heat and light that made Shingyung shriek in agony.

The Waterbender stumble back, but Azula refused to give up her advantage and tried to grab at Shingyung without letting go of her fans. All she managed was hooking her fingers into a sleeve of the other's dress, and Azula tried to bring her left fan over for another hit, but Shingyung flailed her arms, bringing her swords back into play. Azula held on and attempted to angle around the ice blades but then there was the flash of frigid crystal in her vision, a tearing sound, and suddenly Azula was stumbling back to crash into the water.

She shook her head to clear the darkness that seemed to be clouding her conscious, then realized that it was just more blood from her head wound running into her eyes. She tucked her fans back into her belt, took the dress sleeve that she had held onto, and tied it around her head to bandage the cut. Hopefully, that would hold.

"Ha _ha_," Shingyung wheezed. Azula looked, and had to swallow against her revulsion at the damage she had inflicted. The left side of Shingyung's face was already darkening with bruises that almost seemed to compliment the bright light of the full moon, but the whole patch of skin between her eye and her ear was red and wet with blisters. "_There's_ my exquisite Princess. Trying to turn the whole world into a mirror of your brother? Perhaps Dong Min didn't purify you as much as he thought. Our damages run deep, don't they, sister?"

Azula's only response was a Firebending punch. However, she was tired, injured, and sitting in the mud with water coming up to her chest. The flame was thin and watery in the air, and Shingyung batted it away with a single slice of her ice swords.

At least the fire was still blue.

Shingyung licked her lips and grinned, scrunching her burned skin. "Why don't you go for a swim?" She raised both swords above her head, and just as Azula was about to try to take advantage of the lack of defense, all the water around her rushed in and rose upward, suddenly making the lake much deeper in the area where she was sitting. _Deep enough to completely cover her head._ Azula flailed for a moment, then slammed both her boots and her fists into the same spot of mud, and pushed her will as strongly as she could.

The resulting explosion sent her flying back in a massive spray of water. The ride was its own torture, as Azula skipped backwards along the surface of the lake with each impact hammering at her armored body, until she slammed up against something solid and unyielding with enough force to knock the wind from her lungs. She was sprawled across the object- a beam of broken wood? As she gasped for air, Azula looked around, and realized she was back where she started, in the wreckage of the house that Shingyung's first wave attack had collapsed. The walkway she had taken to the plaza was blocked by the remains, and Azula had crashed into them. Finally catching her breath, she pushed herself up off the wooden beam, and tried to come up with some kind of plan to save herself, when-

-when a blade of ice stabbed straight into the back of Azula's right hand to nail her to the wooden beam.

Azula screamed.

She was grabbed by her shoulder and roughly turned, and Azula found herself in Shingyung's grip. The soaked Waterbender beamed down at her, the burn on her face glistening furiously. "Does that hurt, little girl? Does it make you want to behave?"

Azula stifled her own cries of pain and tried to summon the fire, but the agony continued to rattle down from her hand and she could _feel the bones_ in her hand scraping up against the ice. What warmth she could summon seemed to be leaking out from her wounds, from her hand and her forehead and all the little scrapes she had accumulated.

"Still you think you own your fate, little girl?" Shingyung gave a giggle. "You must enjoy the punishments. That's what they told me. If you like it so much, I shall give you more. Then we'll talk about how you can thank me." Shingyung yanked at Azula's shoulder again, pulling and twisting her so that her pinned arm was extended along the wooden beam. Then Shingyung slid her hand down Azula's _other_ arm, extending that along the beam as well, and Azula just had time to realize what her enemy intended-

-when the other ice sword was shoved into the palm of Azula's left hand, sinking deeply into the wood.

Azula screeched her throat raw.

Through the pain, she was barely aware of Shingyung working on the swords, partially liquefying the shafts and shaping the water to encase both of Azula's forearms and the wooden beam, completely trapping her. Then she swept into Waterbending motions, and the waters beneath them moved and swirled to lift Azula up. She floated atop a wave back to the center of the plaza, near where the aqueduct continued to spill ammunition for Shingyung into the flooded square. Azula pushed through the pain pulsing from her impaled hands and began to wonder what Shingyung planned, if the Waterbender was going to drop Azula into the underground river and let it sweep her away to unknown parts, but then she felt a wave of cold and the waters beneath her began to solidify.

Azula came to abrupt halt, the shaft of wood frozen in place, and the water supporting her suddenly fell.

Azula's body dropped briefly, slamming to a stop to hang suspended by her pinned arms from atop a pillar of ice, body stretched out across the wooden beam at her back.

The pain was excruciating-

-breathing became like shrieks-

-no, couldn't breathe-

-hanging from the crossbeam-

-pulled down by her own weight-

-compressing her chest-

-so tight-

-strangled-

-by-

-ribs-

-have to-

-lift-

-_bones grinding together_-

-screaming-

Azula didn't need to think to know that she would be dead in minutes.

* * *

Toru and Meisai arrived in time to see Shingyung raise up Azula's body on a pillar of ice. The Princess hung by her arms, and looked like she was trying to scream with agony but couldn't find the strength.

"_Droppings and ash,_" Meisai hissed. "We need to help her!"

Toru just nodded. He didn't want to send his daughter into harm's way, but he had already betrayed Azula once for what was supposed to be the good of his family, and Meisai had made her thoughts about that more than clear. "Get as close as you need to do what we planned. I'll handle things back here."

Meisai didn't even bother acknowledging him; she just dashed from their hiding place into the lake-like plaza and began following the edges around. Other people were emerging from homes and buildings to see what was going on now that the fighting was over, and Shingyung laughed at their attention. "Have you come for a _show?_ You're in luck, then! You're just in time to witness the death of Princess Azula of the Fire Nation! The symbol of all the suffering we have felt- of all the damage inflicted by the war and chaos that came after- will now cleave her spirit and body before us today! And _I_ am her killer! I was _made_ to be her killer! All of my hate and love and loathing and desire made me better than her! _I can survive anything!_"

Toru shook his head as Shingyung twirled like a dancer at the center of her own lake and the crowd murmured with audible fear. He patted the animal beside him and said, "Easy, boy. I'll help you get rid of her once and for all."

The shirshu whined and shook, but stayed put.

Then a warm light flared amidst the crowds across from Toru, and shot out to become a long thin line like a dragging tail. It sizzled where it dangled into the water, and people shoved away to reveal Meisai standing in their midst and holding a whip of fire. Without banter or war cries, she flicked the whip out to strike at Shingyung. The Waterbender reacted smoothly, summoning waves of her own water right in front of herself to block, but the fire whip didn't even strike them. It just cracked the air in front of the Waterbender.

But Meisai's attack wasn't meant to actually hit anything.

It was just meant to direct.

"Now," Toru shouted, "strike!"

The shirshu made an enthusiastic sound and flicked its tongue in the same direction as the sound of Meisai's cracking fire whip.

Which, given its position, meant that its tongue lashed Shingyung right on her undefended back, slicing through the fabric of her dress.

Toru cheered and rubbed the shirshu's head, but then he noticed that the Waterbender wasn't falling. Instead, she was turning around with a thunderous expression. "That," she wheezed heavily, "wasn't very harmonious with my _mood._"

"Uh oh." Wasn't shirshu venom supposed to paralyze people?

Shingyung moved into a Waterbending stance, and Toru began to think that it was time to get out of there, but the shirshu was growling and holding its ground. Fine time for it to develop a backbone.

Then a war cry sounded, and Shingyung spun to defend herself from Meisai's attack. Their fight immediately started moving too quickly for Toru to keep track, and he could only hope that his daughter would be able to hold her own for long enough. He turned to the shirshu and leaned over to peer into its mouth, and immediately saw the problem. There were ugly scars in the tissue around its tongue, like something had been cut and dug into. Had the venom sacks been removed? Then the creature couldn't do anything more than lash away at its victims. That wouldn't stop Shingyung.

But, he realized, it might accomplish something else.

Petting the shirshu, Toru whispered, "You can't paralyze Shingyung, but you can help _Azula._ Remember the woman you were hunting? She's out there, dying. She needs your help. I need you to sniff for her blood, and strike at that. Please, I need you to do this. Strike Azula. Strike Azula. Strike. Azula. Strike... Azula..."

The shirshu sniffed the air, whined, and flicked out its tongue.

* * *

Azula had no idea what was going on around her. She was aware only of her own increasing cold, of every single one of her bones, of her flattened lungs, of the burning muscles in her arms and back and chest and the way they all stretched and rubbed and _hurt._

But one thing finally pierced through her haze of agony, a sound like a crack in the air and then the crunch of crumbling ice.

Her body fall a short distance but was yanked to halt when her left arm didn't fall with it. The agony in her arm flared, then there was another crack and crash and the pain suddenly came to an end as gravity took complete control. Azula into the mud and the water that stil flooded the plaza, and it was enough to cushion her. She gasped for breath and sat back against the ice pillar, feeling a hundred years old.

She was _sick_ and _tired_ of asphyxiation. Seriously, she _hated_ it.

Hated it.

If Azula never suffocated again in her life, it would be too soon. Or something.

The pain still wasn't gone. Her hands bled and screamed whenever she moved them. Her whole body ached. She wanted to shrug off her armor and just sleep. But she heard a sound like laughter. A voice that belonged to someone Azula was pretty sure she hated. She lurched to her feet, and looked over to where Shingyung was fighting... Meisai?

Had to save Meisai. Meisai was a friend.

Azula dragged herself to her feet and stalked over to the fight while Shingyung battered away at Meisai's defenses with arms covered in water and ice. She got up right behind Shingyung and untied the ripped sleeve from around her head, and then she threw her arms around the Waterbender, ignoring the pain in her pierced hands, and used the silk sleeve to tie her own wrists together as swift and as surely as all Kyoshi Warriors were trained.

She was locked into an embrace with Shingyung. The Waterbender whipped her head around and gasped, "_You?_"

"We both heal, or we both die." Then Azula took a deep breath threw herself into the gushing aqueduct, yanking Shingyung along with her.

The weight of both their bodies, including the weight of Azula's armor, dragged them right through the surging water to sink to the bottom of the stone tunnel.

The water rushed over them like a thriving river, but it wasn't enough to drag them away. In the dark of the underground, Shingyung struggled against Azula's grip, but it was futile. She hadn't had time to take a breath before this, and with her arms pinned, her Waterbending options were severely limited. Azula held her own breath and waited, eager to see how Shingyung liked not being able to use her lungs. The Waterbender's wiggles grew more frantic but Azula tightened her grip. She wanted so much to breathe after nearly dying on that crossbeam, but there was no way she could beat Shingyung as long as she was injured like this; it was time for a new round. Shingyung threw her head backwards, likely in an attempt to butt Azula, but it was slowed by the water and did nothing but nudge Azula's nose. Azula held on, and began to worry that Shingyung would let them both drown here.

Then the water around them began to glow blue, brighter than the moonlight, and a soothing peace moved out all over Azula's body. She had no idea how long it took, as time seemed to suspend itself in that little universe of light, but when the dark came back, Azula's aches seemed to have drifted away with the current. Her hands no longer felt like broken toys.

She shifted her restored body to coil her legs beneath her, and then pushed the last of her breath into her Qi just as she _jumped._ She and Shingyung rocketed up with the power of Fire and burst out of the aqueduct tunnel. They hung in the air for a moment before crashing down onto the muddy ground, Shingyung taking the brunt of the impact with a wheezing grunt. Azula renewed her own close relationship with air and used it to push fire out of her hands, quickly drying and burning the silk binding.

She also just so happened to burn Shingyung's stomach in the process.

Oh well.

Azula stood up in the mud, and noticed that with Shingyung's concentration broken, the water in the plaza was receding, likely draining into the city. Best not to rely on that, though, and Azula's memories provided the answer. Ty Lee had taught all the Kyoshi Warriors the basics of Qi-blocking, and while Azula had never gotten good enough to use them in full combat, she could handle a helpless opponent. She leaned over Shingyung, formed an arrow-fist, punched her in very specific spots once on each limb, and Shingyung's arms and legs went limp in response. Azula couldn't help but wonder if the idea had only occurred to her because of the healing her mind had done in Ba Sing Se, but now was no time to go over all her memories of the last half a year to see if there was any point where Qi-blocking should have occurred to her. Azula looked up and checked out the rest of the situation.

It seemed she had an audience.

A crowd of people were gathered at the edges of the devastated plaza and were watching her with an undisguised mix of fear and fascination. Even as Azula examined them, a squad of spearmen from the City Watch ran into the plaza from one of the leaking waterways. Meisai was also there, and approached Azula with relief on her face. "And here I was actually worried for you," she said.

Azula smiled wryly. "I was actually worried about me, too. And a little for you, of course, but I kind of had holes in my hands at the time. That was distracting." She bowed low to Meisai. "But really, thank you for your help. You saved my life." Rising again, she nodded over at the crowd. "Who are these people?"

"Locals, I guess. Shingyung told them who you are."

"Is that so?" Azula took a deep breath, promising herself that she would never ever let anyone stop her from doing that again, and made herself stand up straight. "Well then, we might as well use this opportunity."

She dragged Shingyung's limp body closer to the crowd, and gave them all- curious families, nervous soldiers, merchants and beggars and people all- her most confident gaze. "You know me. I am Azula, the Fire Princess," she projected. "In another life, I was willing to burn the world for the sake of the Fire Lord. But now... now I consider myself one of you. I have no home. My only allies are my the friends I've made here. And people like this woman- this tool of the powerful, the corrupt, and the unfeeling... people like your Governor, who betrayed me once- are trying to do what I once did. Burn you. Be it with Fire, Earth, or... yes, even Water. They will use you as fuel for the fires of their ambition. That's what this fight was about. I came to kill this woman because she hurt me, and because I discovered she will hurt everyone if not stopped. I'm sorry for what happened to your homes. Part of that is my fault. I shouldn't have waged this fight here. So, to show my regret, I... I will let you choose. What shall I do? Kill the woman? Give her to your city? Shall I leave? Surrender to your corrupt Governor? Tell me. I am your servant, now."

The crowd was silent for a moment, and then one man- a man whose red robes shone even in the light of the moon- shouted, "The Waterbender is our enemy!" An older woman, her hair in a topknot, called out in a wavering voice, "If she owns the governor, she'll go free!" A younger woman in green who clutched a girl and boy cried, "She destroyed our home!" More and more angry voices joined the call, and the City Watch tightened their grips on their spears. One call, spoken by many voices, was soon echoing through the crowd:

"Kill her."

"Kill the Water Witch."

Azula looked down at Shingyung, and was unsurprised to find an ugly grin awaiting her. "You know," the other lilted, "what the true Azula would do, my exquisite little girl."

"Yes," Azula said. The real Azula would take revenge for The Victims, for Mianju, for the manipulations and lies and beatings and stupid swords stabbed into her hands. That was one of the dreams that had motivated her to survive Ba Sing Se, to raise and army and save the colonies. She also knew what Suki would do. Suki was, at her core, an enforcer of the law. She would want formal justice for Shingyung.

But Suki would also know that there was no justice where Long Feng's corruption had spread.

Azula summoned a blue flame in her hand and concentrated her Qi so that it shrunk and intensified, becoming almost solid in its burning, peaked like the blade of a knife. "Remember when you betrayed me and Mianju, and arranged for soldiers to ambush us in that death trap of a factory?"

Shingyung sobbed, or maybe laughed. It was hard to tell which. "Oh, yes. Oh, yes yes yes yessssssssss..."

Azula raised the fire-blade as the shouts of the crowd intensified. "You deserve this. Whatever else had happened, you made the choice to be who you are. You embraced it."

"Yes. We've both had to choose who to be. We had to choose many, many times." Shingyung blinked tears out of her eyes. "Thank you for choosing to be you. I'm so satisfied I was able to see it, just once."

Then Azula struck, plunged the weapon of fire straight into Shingyung's throat. It met no real resistance, passing through flesh and bone and out again. The sounds and smells assaulted Azula's senses and she let the dying body fall into the mud and filth.

The crowd exulted, but one clear voice raised above all the others:

"_SUKI, NO!_"

Azula's gaze snapped to source, and saw Sokka of the Water Tribe in the moonlight, stumbling out of the crowd with horror twisting his beautiful face.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	26. Safety in Numbers

**Safety in Numbers**

It took a lot to shatter Sokka's reality, but there in that demolished Yang City plaza, it had reached that breaking point.

The first time reality was shattered for him was when his mother was murdered in their family's home. The Fire Nation had raided their tribe, and instead of being the glorious battle between good and evil that he had always envisioned, it was a wrenching loss that left him hollow. After that, he had painstakingly built up a new reality based on a hostile world, and the duty and strength of Man, but the Coming of the Avatar (which actually wasn't as fancy as it sounded, since Aang was kind of a goofball) had begun hammering cracks into that reality, and things like warrior women, Water Tribe Princesses he couldn't protect, and a war they wound up winning against all odds had sent flaws racing throughout the whole structure.

A sympathetic Princess of Fire was the blow that had shattered that particular reality.

So even as Sokka had restored that Princess, who was so unlike the first one that he had loved, he developed a new reality, a world that had turned out to center on the Fire Princess, against all expectations. The new reality had weathered doubts. It had weathered persecution. It had weathered secrets and lies and guilt and the most uncertain of futures. Somehow, it had been enough to sustain Sokka when his Fire Princess had run away and he chased her across the colonies. To find her, he had uncovered the secret history of the Dai Li in the archives of Ba Sing Se, and hunted down the organization's global connections: the city where their first uniforms had been made while Ba Sing Se recovered from its uprising, the remote region where their fighting style had first been developed and taught to Avatar Kyoshi, the universities that had contributed to Professor Dong Min's studies of the mind, and-

-Yang City, where the small and intricate metal components of the old Dai Li's wrist-mounted chain-cuff launchers had been manufactured and assembled.

-Yang City, where Sokka had taken Ty Lee to investigate a loud disturbance not far from the inn where they were staying, and walked out of a crowd to find his Fire Princess ripping out the throat of some woman with a blade made of blue flame.

"_SUKI, NO!_"

That was what he found himself shouting as his reality shattered once again, and the woman of his dreams revealed herself to be a figure from his nightmares. And yet, when she turned to him in surprise, she didn't look like the malevolent warrior who had once nearly killed Aang. She looked like a tired, bedraggled woman who could barely stay on her feet. She stared at Sokka like she couldn't figure out if she was really seeing him, dripping water even though as a Firebender she should have been able to dry herself off quickly.

The sight was surreal, colored by the light of the full moon with the soaked plaza glistening like ice. Sokka could almost believe that he was looking at Yue again, but he had already failed to save her from the Fire Nation. Was Suki lost now, too?

Then a young man in Fire Army armor interposed himself between Sokka and his Princess, and said, "Who are you?"

Sokka shook his head. This close, he was not going to let anyone stop him from taking care of Azula (whatever that entailed). "Buddy, I need to go talk to Azula over there. This is important. I'm big on avoiding trouble, and I'd like for you to work with me on that. Please don't be the typical aggressive bodyguard guy."

Ty Lee leaned over and whispered, "Actually, I think that's a lady."

"Oh." Sokka squinted at the soldier's really short hair for a moment, decided that no matter how long he spent away from the South Pole the world would continue to surprise him, and then put on what he considered his most endearing grin. "My mistake?"

"It's okay, Meisai. You can stand down." Azula stepped around the soldier lady and met Sokka's gaze without flinching, although her eyes were those of an animal hunted across a plain of ice until it collapsed from exhaustion. "I suppose there's no running from this. Not now. Not anymore."

Sokka found he didn't know quite what to say. She seemed so much like the Azula of old, the one who was so dangerous that everyone agreed her Firebending should be taken away even after her mental collapse. Yet, he couldn't help seeing the shape of the woman he guided back to life. Her weariness was the same he had seen when Suki was being plagued by nightmares. The set of her jaw was the same stubborn look she pulled whenever he had playfully poked at Suki's pride. And her voice-

It had commanded both Kyoshi Warriors and Firebender Invaders.

Why couldn't he hear that before?

"Suki... what are doing? Why are you killing people? Please, this- this isn't _you_-"

He was interrupted when a spear was thrust into the space between them. Sokka instinctively reached for his boomerang and turned to face his attacker, but no further attacks were forthcoming. Sokka found himself facing a member of the City Watch, holding the spear at ready and wearing an especially fancy hat. "All of you are under arrest! You're going to see the Governor about this." Sokka took a quick look around, and found his little reunion party surrounded by additional Watchmen, all holding their spears with grips that were a little too tight. A few more of the soldiers were herding the crowd out of the waterlogged plaza.

Typical. There were _always_ complications. Sokka was about to play his cards and claim to be a representative of the Avatar, the Fire Lord, and the Earth King (even though he kind of technically wasn't anymore), but then Suki- no, Azula- straightened and calmly pushed a wet strand of hair out of her eyes. "Really," she said in an absolutely controlled voice, and Sokka shuddered at the sound. "Normally, I would respect the sovereignty of a colonial city-state, but I'm afraid there's a bit of a conflict of interest. You see, the last time I visited this city, your Governor sold me out to the Waterbender who I was just fighting. As a result, I was injured and a friend of mine died. Then that woman managed to bribe her way past some of your colleagues. So, I hope you'll excuse me if choose not to place myself in your power. Not that you have a choice. Do you really think you can make us do anything we don't want?" She smiled while showing teeth, but Sokka could see in the moonlight that it didn't reach her eyes.

It didn't need to, though. The Watchmen were trading glances, and more than a few spears were wobbling in the air. Once again, Azula's words were enough to make even her enemies bow before her. "Oh, forget it," Sokka grumbled. "Ty, can you deal with this? Azula and I need to talk."

Ty Lee just nodded, and then she was nothing more than a pink blur in the night, dodging in and out of the Watchmen as they grunted in pain and fell. Azula's soldier- Meisai- also attacked, shooting fire out from her fists with concussive force to keep them from ganging up.

Sokka and Azula just stood in the eye of the storm, eyeing each other. Sokka decided to be the one to break the ice. "So, that... Waterbender... killed a friend of yours?"

Azula glanced over at the body lying in the mud and blanched momentarily, but then she took a breath and worked her face into a scowl. Her eyes glistened gray in the night. "Would you believe me no matter what I said? I don't know why I should even answer you." She raised her chin and somehow managed to look down her nose at Sokka despite being shorter than him. "Who are you to judge me? You're not responsible for me. You don't own me. I'm who I want to be, now. Not who _you_ want me to be. My identity is my own."

"I guess you're right." Sokka couldn't hold back a sigh. It was everything he had been dreading. "Suki is gone, then."

The slap she landed on his face rocked his jaw and cracked loudly in the night. As the stinging faded, Sokka realized that the other fighting had come to an end. Ty Lee and Meisai were looking at him and Azula with surprised gazes.

Azula only had eyes for Sokka, though. "Don't you dare speak about 'Suki.' _I_ am Suki. You don't own her anymore. I am Suki and I am Azula and I am _me._ Don't you understand? Your little toy has been taken from you. You don't get to just walk up now and take it back without asking."

"_I know you're not a toy! I'm trying to save you because I love you!_"

His shout echoed across the plaza. He hadn't meant to scream like that.

Azula looked at him with half-lidded eyes, apparently unmoved. "And what do you think you're saving me from?"

"From... from..." Sokka squeezed his eyes shut, and forced himself to take a breath. "From... Long Feng, I guess. He's... turned everyone against you. He- he arranged for your father to get to Kyoshi Island, and then you... but that was part of Long Feng's plan, and Iroh told us about the Earth King and your freaky hand trying to kill you and... and... I don't want you to be taken away and put to death for something that wasn't your fault. Because... because... I..."

Azula leaned forward, and when she spoke, her breath splashed over Sokka's face. "Because you think you saved me once already, and you don't want all that effort to go to waste because of sabotage. You don't want your toy taken away from you." She stepped back again, and wrapped her arms around her armored body. "And what are your plans for Long Feng? Why was it so important that you come and save me?"

"I was hunting him, too. I just happened to find you first. Once Aang and Zuko finish up in Yu Dao, they can probably-"

"_Yu Dao?!_" Azula's eyes were wide open again, and her posture had lost all its hardness. "They're in Yu Dao now?"

"Y- yeah, they-"

"I surrender."

Sokka blinked. "What?"

She held out her hands to be tied up. "I surrender. Take me as your prisoner. I'm ready to answer for my crimes."

Sokka could only continue to blink. Was Azula going crazy again? A minute ago, she was acting all hostile and Azula-like, and now she wanted him to take her prisoner? Was this Suki talking now?

Off to the side, Ty Lee finally spoke up. "Wait, I thought we beat up Zuko's guards because we didn't want to arrest Azula. I'm getting really confused." Seeing everyone staring at her, Ty Lee smiled and looked over at Azula. "Oh, hi. Good to see you. Sorry I drugged you on Kyoshi Island. That was wrong of me. I hope we can still be friends." Beside her, Meisai gave Ty Lee a _look_ that Sokka could completely understand.

Azula, in turn, was looking at Sokka. "You attacked Zuko's guards. To save me?" Her brow creased, and she eyed him with unmistakable suspicion. "So what were you planning to do when you caught up with me?"

Sokka could only shrug. "I have no idea. But I didn't want to have to bring you back to Ba Sing Se to be hurt for something that isn't your fault."

"My fault." Azula gave a sound that was half-laugh, half snort. "Now there's something that will make a good debate. But regardless, getting me to Yu Dao will be enough. That's where Long Feng is, you see. And only I can stop him." She proceeded to explain what she had learned of his plans, and by the end, Sokka was ready to do her will.

Perhaps his reality wasn't so shattered after all.

* * *

In the lands that produced Earthbenders, "a stone's throw" was considered no small distance, yet still well within sight for all but the oldest and the blindest.

A stone's throw from Yu Dao, the city itself could not even be seen.

Once merely an adjunct to a thriving mining operation, Yu Dao had been founded on the flattest piece of ground that could be found in the mountainous land around it. Giant pillars loomed in the mists that frequently surrounded the city, and cliffs looked down as though in judgment of Yu Dao's inhabitants. Roads and paths twisted around the outcroppings of the Earth's bones, shielding them from the view atop the ramparts of the city's outer walls.

A stone's throw from Yu Dao, Long Feng took advantage of this to make another public appearance.

As his voice rang out in the nighttime mists, the people emerged from the legion of tents that had sprung up on the roads and paths around Yu Dao and ambled over from their campfires, following the flow of their fellows to see what all the fuss was about. They had come to witness and influence the convocation that would decide the fate of the former colonies, and even that proactive sense of citizenship was a flaw that could be manipulated. It was often said that the larger the group, the easier the people were to lead around, but that wasn't necessarily true. Smaller groups, and even individuals, simply needed different techniques. Long Feng may not have been able to throw a stone as far as some Earthbenders, but he knew those techniques of manipulation and used them to great effect. Manipulating entire populations was like playing with a favorite old toy.

"And that raises the question of what Safety truly _is,_" he projected from his spot on one of the pillars a stone's throw away from Yu Dao. He had been speaking for about an hour, listing various ways that people around the world were currently suffering and fearing for their safety. None of it was particularly important, although the connections he was implying between the current world leadership and all that hardship only helped the case he planned to make. The main purpose for that part of the speech was simply to draw the attention of everyone who had been camping a stone's throw or more from Yu Dao, because people who believed in their own suffering loved it when others talked about them. The hour was time enough for word to spread farther than a stone's throw and gather a sizeable crowd for him.

Too long, though, and the wrong kind of people might start showing up. Long Feng was just a stone's throw from Yu Dao, after all, and the Avatar could Earthbend with the best of them. It was time to get to the point.

"In the Earth Kingdom," Long Feng bellowed, "safety is the protection of Kings! It is faith that the Kingdom has thrived since before the time of the Avatars, and will continue to do so when the Avatars are no longer remembered. It is the security that no matter what happens to the rest of the world, Ba Sing Se can endure anything without failing. It is the knowledge that The Earth King is no man, but a vessel- a vessel for the strength of the Earth itself- that once wore a human name."

Hidden on the stone pillar some distance above him, an Earthbender shook loose some of the dust and gravel and sent if floating down to Long Feng's left like a small mudslide.

"In the Fire Nation, safety is strength! The Fire Lords rule because no one can challenge them and survive. Conflicts are tested and settled in duels, and the winners can bask in divine confirmation of their righteousness. When the Fire Nation united and made war, it could not be defeated until the ultimate strength, the Avatar, returned to defeat the Fire Lord. It is from the Fire Nation that the new technology has sprung, creating an Age of Metal that will endure to the ends of time itself."

A flare of fire exploded to Long Feng's right, shot out by a Firebender also hidden high up on the pillar.

"Here in the colonies, safety is peace! We have no heroes of our own, no armies to protect our resources, our borders, or our _homes_. We are at the mercy of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom; one day they wish to conquer us, and the next they claim to protect us. Our own villages and cities compete with each other for people, for resources, for technology, and for alliances. For us, safety is no more than the lack of conflict, and no less than the presence of justice. We can only have peace when we unite into the nation we deserve to be, but that will not be the source of peace.

"And right now, we are not safe."

Long Feng looked up and around at the crowd around him, all staring in rapt fascination, and smiled in the light of the full moon and the torches that beat back the mists. Now, his hidden and carefully trained Firebender would be stoking the Inner Fire of every other Firebender here, raising their emotions and bringing out their passion. The same couldn't be done for anyone else, not even the Earthbenders, but it was unnecessary. That was the beauty of herd behavior; all it needed was a beginning, and a little push. It would spread by itself from that. "My brothers, my sisters, only _I_ can bring you safety. Only I can bring you peace. Here in the colonies, safety is _Long Feng!_"

There was a pause, just long enough for everyone in the crowd to digest that but not long enough for them to form an opinion on it, and then a voice cried out, "You just want to rule us! Like you wanted to rule Ba Sing Se!"

Long Feng dropped his smile, and bowed his head just enough to convey humility without actually hiding his face. "No," he said with less aggression but no loss of volume. "It is true that I sought to control Ba Sing Se, and that I drew too much power unto myself, but that was to keep the city safe. For as long as I served the Earth Kings, the Fire Nation could not reach the city, could not infiltrate our society, could not disrupt our way of life. As the rest of the Earth Kingdom fell, people streamed towards Ba Sing Se, because for all our faults, no one could question the safety we provided. And when the Avatar forced me out of power, made his ploy to seize the city's resources so that he could make an impetuous attempt to invade the Fire Nation, Ba Sing Se fell to the enemy almost _immediately!_

"But don't think me infallible." Long Feng looked up here, and let his gaze travel over the crowd. "I tried to rise up against the Fire Princess, and she forced me to retreat from the city." He paused again, but then quickly continued, "She conquered Ba Sing Se where all the rest of her dynasty failed. She killed the Avatar once, thwarted only by the magics of the Water Tribe's greatest healers. She won back her Firebending and escaped from the Fire Lord's most devious prison. She destroyed a village on Kyoshi Island. She made fools of the Avatar and the Fire Lord by traipsing around the colonies and avoiding all their attempts to find her. She returned to Ba Sing Se and _murdered the Earth King with her own hands and fire, a man I watched grow up only for him to cast me away!_ And she made me... retreat."

Long Feng smiled once again. "I give you no false modesty. I withstood the Princess Azula when everyone else failed or was killed. I have studied her, in the time since I saw her last. I have analyzed her methods. I have assembled forces tailored to eat away at her power and destroy her for her crimes. I have devoted my life to providing Safety, and I wish to serve you now in the same way."

Another voice in the crowd called, "You say 'serve,' but you mean to rule us!"

"Your rulers should be the people you choose," Long Feng countered, not directing his gaze or voice at any one place. "If you wish the Governors to retain their power, then that should be. If you wish the rich and the powerful to share their abilities by leading you, then that should be. If you wish to raise a King or a Lord or a Divine Emperor then _that should be!_ But leadership is never vested in a single entity. Kings and Councils may decide, but their servants are tasked with executing their will. Those servants need to be people of the greatest skill, people just as devoted to the nation- no, _more_ devoted- than the Kings and the Councils. I task you, my brothers and sisters, that when you make your voices heard and decide who you want to lead your new nation, you ask for servants to keep you _safe._ And I humbly submit myself for consideration as the executor of your safety. As the Chief Executor of your safety. Thank you for your time, and your attention."

The crowd raised their voices, most of them in cheers from what Long Feng could hear, and his hidden Benders once again sent down flames and dust clouds to cover his escape. Obscured, he crouched and punched the ground beneath his feet, sinking the platform into the tunnel that had been dug out before.

The cheers were good, but it would be better if they lasted. Just like the 'hecklers' in the audience had been his own soldiers feeding him scripted lines, the first of the cheers would be coming from those already loyal to Long Feng. It was all about setting a mood, making people think that they were already part of something greater than themselves. They would fall in line like the herd animals that humanity often emulated. But that didn't require Long Feng's attention, now. Everything was set up so that it could run with minimum guidance. He only had to be himself. His sliding descent came to an end in one of the old mining tunnels deep beneath the ground. He was soon followed by his Earthbender and Firebender servants, the former of whom closed the access tunnel behind them, and the latter quickly summoned a flame to act as a torch. Such efficiency. Long Feng rose from his crouch and smiled at the pair. "Good work, boys. Now, we should hurry. I still have that meeting with the Mayor, and he gets so anxious when I'm running a few minutes late. It's almost as if he doesn't trust me."

* * *

Azula watched through the closest porthole as the torches and glowing buildings of Yang receded into the darkness below her. Not that shadow was limited to the city and the lands around it. The cabin of Sokka's airship was lit only by moonlight that shone through the various windows, as an interior lamp would have cast too much glare, and so everything around her was cast in shades of gray. Sitting in the center of one of those shadows, Azula couldn't help but feel that, as much as this journey was necessary, she was risking her control of her life.

And risking her friends.

When Sokka was finally convinced to arrest Azula, he wanted to get out of the city as soon as possible, but she had one thing to take care of first. Walking far enough away from Sokka and Ty Lee so that they couldn't hear, Azula gave her goodbyes to Meisai and Toru. The father and daughter hadn't been happy about that, of course. "I don't get why we can't come with you," Meisai had said.

Azula glanced back at Sokka before she responded. "Because I have a job for the both of you. I need to go face Long Feng directly and stop him from turning the colonies into his own official kingdom, but I'm not going to be able to do it with just the resources I have on hand. I need you two to arrange some things for me." Then she smiled, one of the few completely stress-free smiles she had indulged in since Kyoshi Island. "I know you'll be able to do it. Everything you both have done, from that first voyage all the way to saving my life here, has been more than I ever could have hoped for when my life became this nightmare. Meisai, you've been my only real friend this whole time. And Toru, you've earned your forgiveness, twice over. Thank you both for everything."

Azula bowed low, but Meisai grabbed her shoulders and yanked her into a hug. "There's no need to thank us. We've all helped each other."

Azula had pulled back, and couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "Helped each other? I've basically taken over your life, forced you to sell the only home and refuge you had, and dragged you into a war. How has that helped you?"

"You're making a new home for us. A place where we can live without worrying about being arrested for a war we thought we were fighting honorably, or oppressed for how we were born. And you've helped my Father and I start to make a real go of being family. But even that still doesn't matter. Friends don't look for even exchange."

"I know." Azula once again glanced at Sokka. "It's good to have some real friends, but now I have to go. Toru, take care of that shirshu for me, please. It's suffered enough for my mistakes."

He smiled and turned to look at the animal where it was drinking from the still-open aqueduct. "Never really wanted a pet, but I'll see if I can't find it someplace nice to settle down. Smooth seas and warm winds, Princess."

"The same to you, Captain."

And so, after giving Meisai and Toru their final instructions, Azula let Sokka and Ty Lee lead her out of the city to their airship.

Her new allies.

It was hard to think of Sokka and Ty Lee that way, considering what they had done to her. Ty Lee, at least, was guilty of perpetrating the lie that was Suki and drugging Azula to keep it going. At best, assuming Ty Lee had truly believed that her actions were for Azula's own good, she was still a rationalizing manipulator. And Sokka... Sokka was worse. But Azula had already made the mistake of forsaking allies once already. Even though she had Meisai and Toru with her, even though Dong Min warned her against it, she had confronted Shingyung in a one-on-one fight.

It nearly killed her.

Azula had survived only because her friends had taken their own intelligent initiative.

And, truly, were Sokka and Ty Lee any worse than the Rough Rhinos, than the army of murderers she had recruited under her banner? It _felt_ worse, but was that simply Azula's own selfishness at work? Of all the sacrifices she would have to make to defeat Long Feng, a bit of selfishness should be the least of them. Turning to Sokka and trying to keep the edge out of her voice, Azula said, "How far are we going tonight?"

Sokka didn't take his eyes away from the front viewport. "Not too far. The full moon is giving us enough illumination to go by for now, but night-flying is still dangerous. I just want to put a little distance between us and Yang. You... uh, well, they probably still want to arrest you there, and if you're right that the Governor is on Long Feng's side..."

"He is." Azula crossed her arms over her armor and leaned back in her seat. "He was the only one who knew that I was trying to save people during that bombing mission, and yet Shingyung found out and turned the situation around on me. I've been burned quite a bit by trusting people." Azula wanted so much to sleep, her body felt so drained after the fight with Shingyung, but she had to keep going. Soon enough, she would have her chance to get all the rest she needed. "That's why I killed Shingyung. As much as I wanted revenge for the death of my... friends... it was also a way to protect my own life, and the lives of the people Long Feng would hurt. It was justice. The real thing."

And it was. Azula felt this, in her heart. She felt sick and guilty about what she did to Ozai's face, berated herself for the mistakes she made that lead to the Earth King's death, and she was weighed down by the burden of the soldiers lost to her cause and the lives that The Victims would never be able to recover. Yet she only felt a grim sense of completion for Shingyung's death.

Sokka and Ty Lee both wore pained expressions. The latter ran a hand through her short hair and said, "You hate us, don't you? You want justice against us, too. You're really Azula again."

Azula quirked an eyebrow. "Would your conception of Suki really be okay with accepting any more tea from you? I'm not attacking you. I surrendered myself to you, remember? Just because I don't want to let myself fall asleep before you two, or accept any of your food, doesn't mean I've become some kind of demon Fire Princess."

Ty Lee looked down and tugged nervously at her circus outfit. Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "I was trying to help. I still think of you as my friend."

Azula ignored her.

Sokka shifted in his chair. "I appreciate your cooperating, and I'm glad you know that Long Feng is the real enemy. I know it seems bad from your perspective, but we all were doing what we thought was the most right thing we could. I- we- we all love you and want the best for you. The best we could manage."

Azula hated how her heart skipped a beat when he talked of love. She was doing a good job keeping her emotional distance, of keeping the anger and resentment just buried enough to work with her new allies, but she also still had feelings for Sokka that weren't so acrimonious. She still had all of Suki's memories and experiences of the times they spent together, the times he supported her. They still fueled feelings of... well, putting a name to it didn't matter. Her mind- finally healed, or as healed as it could get- knew what he was really like beneath his caring, love-struck exterior. Just like Long Feng had hurt and created The Victims, so Sokka had created Suki. Even though she needed him as ally, she couldn't help but ask, "Is that why you did it?"

"Um-"

"Is that why you made me love you? Did you think it would help me? Or was it for your own benefit? Did the old Azula intrigue you in some special way?"

Sokka's grip tightened on the airship's steering wheel, and he obviously struggled with the urge to turn and face her. "No," he eventually bit out, his voice strained. "My whole plan was supposed to help you. You were hurt, and they said you were dying. I couldn't save everyone I wanted to, but I thought I could save you. I tried to create a life for you that would make you happy, but... something happened that I didn't expect. _We_... kind of just happened. Dong Min moved some of the history around so that it would build up your- Suki's history, but it was _real._ Real enough. I just tried to make it all work. There was so much going against us..."

"Is it any wonder?" Azula leaned forward in her seat, and even though her body protested with weariness, her thoughts shook off any sluggishness. "You killed a woman and used the pieces to put together a fake."

Ty Lee burst out with, "You're not fake!"

Sokka protested, "I didn't kill anyone, I was trying to save you!"

Azula just shook her head at them. "Neither of you know what you're talking about. The _real_ Azula was a full person with a mind and a history and a lifetime of choices. Maybe she made bad choices, maybe she was evil, and maybe she was dying. I don't know. That's the thing. _I don't know._ What you did... it killed Azula. It wiped out who she was. All those memories are gone forever. That history might as well not have happened. The changes you made to her were retroactive; you didn't just cover up a history, your work crept into the past to destroy it. Even now, I don't really know myself. I don't know what's natural and what came from Suki."

Ty Lee quirked her head to the side as if questioning, a motion that reminded Azula of Shingyung. She turned away from the sight and let the view of the stars through the porthole fill her vision before she spoke again. "When I first escaped from Kyoshi Island, I tried to be the real Princess Azula because I thought that would save me. Heal me, maybe. I couldn't trust my memories, but the stories I knew about Azula were very clear about the type of person I was. I tried to be hard like that, and I hurt people, but... it hurt me, too. It's just gotten worse since then. I feel _guilt_, now. I'm less and less sure about what Azula would do, but I have to _be_ her in order to win this- this war. So I'm guessing, and presenting the image that people expect of the Fire Princess. I give life to the identity that the world formed for her. I live her legacy."

Sokka's reply was as soft as the moonlight that blanketed him. "But you _don't_ know the old Azula. You just know the changes we made to her history. You've heard the guesses from people who knew Ozai's idea of his daughter more than they knew the person herself. Yourself. I guess Long Feng used that against all of us."

"What do you mean?" Azula looked over at him. "What changes?"

"Azula wasn't as bad as we told you," Ty Lee said, leaning forward. "Yes, she hurt people. She _liked_ hurting people. Maybe she was just like that, or maybe she was taught that way. I'm not smart enough to know which of those is right. But Azula had other moments. We left those out of the new history so that you wouldn't get confused. Like... like when we captured the Kyoshi Warriors!"

Azula nodded. "They were sent to prison instead of killed. I assume the whole part where Suki was sent to the Boiling Rock was a fabrication."

"Yeah. But there was a time when we had the Kyoshi Warriors as prisoners at the camp where they made the big drill thingy outside Ba Sing Se." Ty Lee stood up, and began pacing back and forth across the small cabin, passing from light to shadow as she spoke. "One night, you'n'me'n'Mai were trying to sleep, but then a soldier guy from your retinue came up to us and said the shift captain was going after the Kyoshi Warriors in their holding cells. For... um, you know. You rushed down there before things got bad. The Kyoshi Warriors were using their little prison cell like a castle, and they were holding the doorway. When you got there, you just went _wild_ on the soldiers! You fought so well, just like you always did, and beat them all up. Mai and I didn't have anything to do. And then, you said that any man who wanted to hurt your prisoners would... how did you word it? 'Lose his ability to infringe on a woman ever again.' And they listened, because you could be so scary. The burn you gave the captain on his thigh probably helped, too. I couldn't figure out any reason for you to help the Kyoshi girls like that, because we were done questioning them by then. You just helped.

Sokka was smiling in the moonlight, and added, "That's why Kyoshi Island agreed to help you, too. They wanted to give you a home for protecting their daughters."

Azula could barely bring herself to process that. It almost made her doubt her own mind again. That was far too similar to what happened when she first visited Yang, before meeting Shingyung, when she almost casually protected that room of women in that flophouse from a drunk. She hadn't really thought about that, but now that she examined it, it seemed more like something Suki could have done. Yet Ty Lee was saying that Azula was the one who established the precedent. Had that been _lost_ from Dong Min's brainwashing, and re-established? Or had she never been as far from the true Azula as she thought? Or was the old Azula just possessive of her victims, not wanting to share them. Yet she had apparently done nothing too bad to the Kyoshi Warriors, if that was their defining memory of her. "So you killed that person to- what? Set free the good person you saw within?"

Ty Lee sat down in her chair and curled up so that she could hug her legs against her chest. "But Azula- you- were going to die if we didn't do anything. We had to."

"If you say so. Maybe I would have died, but maybe I would have gotten better. There were a number of times, after Kyoshi Island, when I thought it was certain that I was going to die, but I wound up surviving anyway. Sometimes I had help, and sometimes I found strength within myself that I didn't expect. If some part of me is still the real Azula, then she must have been the same way. Maybe she would have recovered, and found a way to contribute positively to this world you're trying to shape. Maybe she would have tried to destroy it and you would have stopped her, but then at least her end would be a result of her own actions. We'll _never know._"

Silence reigned in the cabin for a while after that. Eventually, Sokka adjusted some controls and the airship began descending slowly. "I meant well. If I was wrong, I'm sorry."

Azula nodded. "I think I believe you." And she found that she really did. Despite the hurt of his lies, despite the implications that Ozai and Long Feng made, despite Azula's own embarrassment at giving of herself so fully to a man who couldn't truly see her as a person with a right to her own life... she believed him. Maybe she wanted to. Maybe that was just another part of the brainwashing. But, in the end, it didn't matter. "Even Long Feng means well, in his own way. And we see how that has turned out. Sometimes, meaning well means trusting and taking your chances. Just like I'm trusting you to help me save the world. But I- Azula, or the closest thing we still have- can't trust you as my friends. Not anymore."

Neither of the other two said anything to that. Azula glanced out her porthole again, and saw a dark stretch of ground that she quickly identified as a forest in the moonlight. That would be their shelter for the night. They had to hide from the light in order to get where they wanted to go. Or perhaps it wasn't such an apt metaphor, and Azula's weariness was finally catching up with her mind. (She hoped she didn't dream of Shingyung.) Either way, it reminded her of one last thing she needed to say.

"You may not be my friends, but we're allies now, against a common foe. I'm taking a calculated risk by giving you a certain amount of trust. If you want to defeat Long Feng... if you want to show that you truly regret what you did to me, you need to give me your trust in return. Don't question my purpose. Don't let others turn you against me with lies or distortions. Let me be who I've forged myself to be.

"And do exactly what I say."

The airship shuddered as it landed, and when Sokka and Ty Lee turned to face her, their eyes were glistening.

* * *

Long Feng met with Mayor Morishita deep beneath the city, in a stone chamber carved off from the main mining tunnels. As he entered, the Mayor took a moment to stare at the furniture and decorations placed around the room, obviously taken aback by the touch of taste of sophistication. Long Feng remained sitting at the table in the center of the space and said, "Yes, you don't often see this level of comfort so far underground, but I have been forced to spend these last few years in the dark-" Azula's angry face flashed through Long Feng's mind- "thanks to my persecutors, so I like to make it as pleasant as possible. We just recently had to abandon our main base in the Chubang Mountains, so we needed a place to store these things, anyway." Morishita gave a little shudder, but Long Feng ignored it. He supposed the idea of living underground for so long must seem like torture to a Firebender, but Long Feng couldn't complain about the arrangements. As a Firebender, Azula would be weaker underground. "So, what report on the Convocation?"

"The talks continued today, but the Avatar is still opposing the idea of a Council of Governors until they will agree to a guaranteed set of laws defining their power. He fears corruption, and a ruling body that will perpetuate itself even beyond the power of monarchs. The Earth King and the Fire Lord also have their own objections to allowing certain of the Governors to remain in office with official approval, but they're both holding back for now, probably in hopes of forcing a compromise somewhere down the line."

Long Feng smiled. "And, of course, your own Governor is one of those objectionable men. When Zuko and the Earth King make their big push, the other Governors will withdraw support for him, and one will propose you as a replacement. That will be seen as an opening to a compromise, one that Zuko will no doubt welcome, given your history together. After all, that little crisis ended with you remaining in power, so he must see something in you. Perhaps your family-"

Morishita scowled at the reference, but on his chubby face, it looked more comedic than intimidating. He shot back, "And you think that compromise will convince the Avatar and his friends to accept you in a position of power?"

"No, but that will be just one of the factors adding pressure to the situation. My agents in the camps are reporting that my speeches have made me quite popular already. And then when Shingyung produces Princess Azula's head, I'll have my buy-in to the convocation. I can handle the situation from there."

"And is that all you truly desire? To serve a council of people you helped put into power? Or is that merely a stepping stone for you?"

Long Feng leaned back in his seat. "A bold question."

Morishita stared back. Mentioning his family did rile him up so.

"But, I suppose, a valid one." Long Feng stood, and looked around at his little headquarters cave. Painted scrolls had been hung on the walls to provide a little color, images of glowing sunsets. It was tempting to say that Long Feng's enjoyment of such things was symbolic, but he was too self-aware for such trite speculation. Endings and beginnings were a part of everything in life. Azula's ending would be Long Feng's own beginning. "Well, Mayor, your concerns are unfounded. I never truly dreamed of ruling. Perhaps you don't understand here in the colonies, but the Earth King is like a god to my people. Gods, though, can be foolish. They can even be killed. To be a god is to be defined by an identity owned by the entire world. To rule like that would a burden, a weight that would keep me from truly achieving the best for the world. I prefer to remain the shadows, to shape the will of the public icons to be more efficient, more practical, more suited to the world upon which they can only look down."

"You want your old job back, but for the whole colonies instead of just one city." Morishita looked skeptical. "Having served under strong Fire Lords, I imagine that all it would take to check your power is a strong leader."

Long Feng turned away from the painted sunset, to face his pawn. "We are beyond the age of strong leaders, Mayor. The Avatar has broken the power of the so-called gods, and plants his friends into the leadership of all three nations. It's a good lesson, that no matter how high you climb, there's always someone looking down on you from another peak. History shows us that it is better to set up shop further down the mountain, where you can control how the water from the melting snows flows down to the villages below. And history, I think, will find that the Chief Executive of the United Geniocracy was the one with the true power." All he had to do was steal that power from the icon that was Princess Azula. He knew that he could rely on Shingyung, but Long Feng could not help but feel his patience draining away. It was all coming together; all would be finished so soon. "On that note, I think it's time for me to start making appearances within Yu Dao itself. Have you completed the tasks I gave you?"

Morishita nodded. "The tunnels that run beneath the city have been expanded in accordance with your requirements, and the weapons factories are running their machine presses all day and all night. We haven't been able to test the idea that they'll block the Bei Fong girl's senses, but..."

"Don't worry, Mayor." Long Feng rose, approached Morishita, and put an arm around his rotund shoulders. "I've been planning this for a long time. Nothing has been left to chance. Not my allies, not my enemies, and especially not the people caught between the two.

"Nothing."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	27. The Promised Land

**The Promised Land**

Long Feng woke up in the early hours of the morning to find his worst nightmare come true.

The only light in the room-like cave he used as his quarters spilled in from the hallway, streaming past the guard who had awoken Long Feng to sear sleep-encrusted eyes. "What's wrong?"

"We received a coded message from Yang City, sir." The guard's face was hidden in shadows cast by the backlighting, but his voice betrayed urgency and a little touch of fear. "From the governor. He- ah- well, Shingyung is dead, sir. Princess Azula was taken from the city alive by a Water Tribe man."

Long Feng instantly came awake, but couldn't help but wonder if he was still asleep. No, he couldn't be that lucky. This was why the world needed him, because things were so chaotic in this world, and only Long Feng had the skills and intelligence to provide the Order that would finally set things rights. And he was the world's only chance to rid itself of Azula.

But even he needed _time._ Time that might be running out. But that was okay.

After Ba Sing Se, Long Feng had learned to play for time.

* * *

Sokka looked down upon the sea of people in the morning sun, and saw the doom of the world. "Who could have possibly thought that letting a random crowd of- of _whoever_ camp outside Yu Dao without any kind of policing or leadership was even a halfway good idea?"

Behind him in the airship's cabin, Azula leaned over to get a better view through the viewport. Sokka ignored the weighty combination of longing and fear that her proximity inspired and tried to focus on her words: "Well, Long Feng for one. What does he care if tempers flare and a riot breaks out? So long as at least one of the factions down there favor of him, he couldn't care less how many would die in the clashes."

Over in the co-pilot's chair, Ty Lee was running her hands through her shortened hair again. Sokka couldn't help but wonder if Azula's presence was making Ty Lee even more nervous than usual. As if mirroring his thoughts, Ty Lee flicked her gaze over to Azula briefly before looking back through the viewport. "I'm still not sure I get Long Feng's plan. How can someone so evil think that he can just be allowed to go free? And become a leader!"

Azula snorted lightly. "Says the only one in this cabin who actually remembers working for Fire Lord Ozai." She straightened and went back to her seat in the cabin's rear. "People just want to be able to live their lives, and there's no doubt that defeating 'the scourge of the Fire Princess' would feel like an improvement for the lives of everyone in the colonies. Besides, Long Feng isn't trying to be declared anyone's leader just yet. He came up with a new name for his old job of being a secret puppet master. Or, at least, that's what Dong Min explained to me."

Sokka couldn't help but shudder at the mention of Dong Min. For a time, the old psychologist professor guy was almost like a friend to Sokka. They were partners in turning Azula into Suki, and Dong Min had even gone out of his way to protect the love that had sprung between Sokka and Su- Azula. It was love illicit, love forbidden, love that came from a situation that Sokka was beginning to think he was wrong to bring about. Yet, it was love so strong that Sokka _still_ felt it. Dong Min had found a way to help it flourish, and Sokka was still grateful for that. Yet Dong Min had also gone on to help Long Feng kidnap women from all over the world and turn them into death-seeking duplicates of Azula. According to Azula herself, Dong Min had felt so burdened by his mistakes that he took his own life. (Assuming Azula was telling the truth.)

Was one of the mistakes he regretted his decision to preserve the love between Sokka and Suki?

Was Sokka's love just as flawed and corrupt as Dong Min's life?

Did it need to die?

Should Sokka be thinking of these things while he was flying a state-of-the-art _Appa_-class airship filled with explosive rising gas? Well, at least Sokka had an answer for that one. Focusing on his piloting, Sokka twisted the dial on the control board that would start the airship descending. "Whatever messed up plans Long Feng came up with, none of them will work once every sees that the 'Fire Princess' has been peacefully taken into custody right here in Yu Dao."

"Exactly," Azula said from behind him. "He'll need to scramble to salvage the situation, and that's when we'll get him."

Sokka nodded. "The only problem is making sure that we don't bite off more than we can chew. Anyway, we have to be careful how we play this. We have random people from all over the colonies here, along with Fire Nation people and Earth Kingdom people. And _none_ of them like Azula. We don't want to start a war. So I'm thinking we need to get some neutral guards."

"Don't be so sure that none of those people would support me." Azula's voice was hard. "I've found your little group's decision to leave the colonies on their own isn't as universally popular as the leadership in Yu Dao would have had you believe." Sokka looked back at Azula, and nearly flinched at the accusation in her eyes. It was a sight he had been dealing with frequently over the last week or so of traveling with her. Finally, she looked down again and wiped at a smudge on her armor. "I presume that by 'neutral guards,' you mean the White Lotus is in the city in a public capacity."

Sokka turned back to his controls and had to admit that he was impressed. Azula had figured it out based on nothing more than a vague allusion. "There should be. After the Yu Dao Crisis, it was pretty obvious that we needed a group of universally trusted peacekeepers, at least as a symbol, and freeing Ba Sing Se without conquering it was a good start. We're stretching them thinner and thinner, though. I should probably ask Master Piandao about them doing some more recruiting. Anyway, we'll land outside the city, one of us will go get an escort, and then the White Lotus can formally put you into protective custody somewhere in the city. The Earth King will probably be ticked, but I never specified _when_ we would turn you over to him. Since we need you free to fulfill the other half of our deal to get Long Feng, we even have a legal justification. Once Long Feng is done we can... uh..."

"You can decide what you want to do with me." Sokka heard Azula shift in her seat. "In the interest of our alliance, I'll just let that one go for now."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Literally. Getting back to the main subject, Ty Lee should be the one to get help. In case Long Feng has spies looking out for you two in the city, Ty Lee is more capable of defending herself. And... I want the crowds below to see me be taken into the city by the White Lotus. Dong Min said that Long Feng would be giving speeches to the people here to rally popular support, and it's important that they see he can't deliver on his promise to kill me. And if there's trouble with the crowds when I'm revealed..." Azula didn't speak for a long moment. "Well, someone besides me with a quick mind might be helpful."

It took Sokka a second to realize that she was talking about him. He felt an absurd urge to grin at the compliment, but the knowledge of how hard that admission must have been for Azula put a damper on his satisfaction. Planning like this, it was almost like having Suki back; they had worked well together during the Yu Dao Crisis. But it seemed more and more like it had been _Azula_ he had partnered with, in a way. How much had been lost when she was made into Suki?

He was getting distracted again. Sokka made himself watch all the instruments on the control panel as the airship settled on the ground with only a slight shake, and then began shutting everything down. As he went down the line flipping switches, he caught movement from Ty Lee out of the corner of his eye. Sokka looked over to see her glancing back and forth between him and Azula. "What?"

Ty Lee gave one more back and forth, and then said, "Um, are we all friends again?"

Sokka figured that the chilly silence was answer enough.

* * *

Ty Lee was soon dispatched to bring back the White Lotus guards for their plan, and Azula couldn't help but worry that- either by design or mistake- she would instead be greeted by an angry Avatar and Fire Lord pair who would tie her up, parade her around for the crowd, and then stick her in a hole somewhere for the rest of her life. She had to trust that Sokka wouldn't let them, trust that everyone understood that only she could catch Long Feng for them.

Azula found herself pacing in the airship's cabin.

"Are..." From his pilot's chair, Sokka watched her closely. "Are you okay?"

"Just loosening up," Azula lied. "I'll be in the passenger." She ducked through the hatch and moved to the rear of the airship. The passenger compartment was the largest room on the vessel, not counting the area reserved for the engine. Azula walked past the two rows of benches in the front of the room, and resumed her pacing in the open rear space. Fairly comfortable cots could be flipped out of the walls, but for now they were all locked down, leaving the area clear. The only things Azula had to watch out for were the little hooks set into the floor for securing cargo. Azula had seen this airship- she was told that it was Zuko's _Fang_- before, during the group visits to Uncle Iroh's teashop in Ba Sing Se, back when she was Suki. This should be her first time aboard, but she couldn't shake the sense of familiarity she had for the passenger compartment in particular. Like all of Sokka's designs, it combined practicality and an attention to detail. Hopefully the plan he and Azula developed maintained the same quality.

Or was she hoping otherwise?

Did she _want_ him to be right?

As far as catching Long Feng, Azula was very sure that she would prefer Sokka to provide competent assistance. But on another level... it seemed that she wanted to be able to trust in him- truly _trust_ and open herself up to him completely- while also wanting to never again give him control over her. No matter how good his intentions were, he was willing to take his control as far as it could go, and that was terrifying. Azula couldn't help but remember how sweet and easy it was when her whole being succumbed to Long Feng's programming in the Earth King's bedroom, and the damage that had been wrought as a result. She had excised the Dai Li programming in Ba Sing Se, but a person didn't need brainwashing to manipulate people and fool them.

No, Azula had keep on her guard. Never let up. It would be exhausting, but...

But she had been making plans, during the trip to Yu Dao. Plans that she hadn't shared with Sokka and Ty Lee.

And when those plans were complete, she would finally be able to rest.

There was the clanking of boots on the metal floor, and Azula turned to find Sokka peeking into the passenger compartment. "Ty Lee's back. We have our escort."

Azula took a deep breath, and flared the Fire Within.

* * *

Sokka had never liked the terrain around Yu Dao. The huge pillars of rock and the winding pathways reminded him too much of the Great Divide, and who actually liked the Great Divide? While he didn't exactly have nightmares from his experiences there, Sokka still had no desire to think back to the time he was stuck in a giant rocky pit with two arguing tribes that just wanted to kill each other. Approaching the tent city now, full of people from all over the colonies who were the living remnants of the conflict between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, Sokka couldn't help but draw parallels between the situations. Unpleasant, life-threatening parallels. The bad kind.

He had been gratified to find that the White Lotus had taken Ty Lee's request seriously and sent a good number of guards, enough to match a platoon in any formal military, and they included Earthbenders, Firebenders, and spear-wielders. As expected, they were all older men, but they didn't look any less hard for it. They took up formation around Azula as soon as she disembarked from the airship; she hadn't resisted, and none of the Lotus Guard had reacted to her in any special way. It was only as they approached the camped out crowds that Sokka had started to get worried again. The people working and living along the pathway had apparently been watching for the Lotus Guards' return.

"_That's Princess Azula!_"

Yup, there it was.

Sokka immediately drew his boomerang. "Keep moving," he said to the lead Lotus Guard, and then turned in the direction that the shout had come from. "Princess Azula has _surrendered!_ We're taking her into the city! _There will be no fighting!_ Everyone, please stay calm! I'm the Avatar's buddy, this is all under control!" Sokka wished frostbite on Long Feng for making this whole show necessary. With any luck, Mister Dai Li himself would show up now and then Sokka could finish all this with a well-thrown boomerang to the head.

For now, the crowd limited itself to harsh mutterings, although it continued to draw more people and grow as the Lotus Guard procession marched onward.

Then the rock went flying.

Sokka barely caught the motion, but his hunter's eyes managed to pick out the fist-sized stone as it arced over the White Lotus and fell towards Azula. She snapped into motion, and with a single sharp clang managed to raise her forearms and block the projectile with her metal vambrace.

Sokka immediately turned back to the crowd and raised his voice again. "Hey! Just a normal rock! It's wasn't Earthbending!" The crowd's murmuring grew louder, echoing off the tall walls of stone, but the people didn't move around. So far, so good. In some sections of the colonies, just tossing a stone at a Firebender was a Big Deal, and more than once it had been the start of a conflict that Aang wound up having to settle. Hopefully, everyone would keep their heads. With that in mind, Sokka went over to the pair of the Lotus Guard, both of them with bare feet, who were hauling a man out of the crowd. The man struggled with clenched teeth, and his hands were dusty with the essence of the Earth. "Nice throw, guy," Sokka said. "You understand we can't let you attack cooperating prisoners, right?"

"_She killed my parents!_" The man lunged towards Sokka, but the Lotus Guards held him in place with their feet flat against the ground. "_She burned our farm!_ Her Firebenders burned everything!"

Sokka sheathed his boomerang and looked the man in the eyes. "I'm sorry. When did it happen?"

"_What?_"

"When did it happen?"

The man blinked, and then relaxed a bit in the Lotus Guards' grip. "It- it was the beginning of the summer. They- they burned everything!"

"That's what I'm here to answer for," Azula's voice rang out. Sokka whipped around, confused. What was she doing? This crowd didn't need to be riled up anymore. Yet there she was, stepping forward like she coming up on stage to get a medal, and the White Lotus shifted uneasily to give her room. "Everyone in the colonies has suffered, but the worst of the trouble has come from people acting in my name. I did not order that, but I take responsibility for what those criminals have done. I'm here to end the conflict and help make sure that no more farms are burned."

The rock-thrower didn't look convinced, struggling once more against his captors, and the volume of the crowd rose up again. From somewhere behind Azula, another voice called, "You killed the Earth King!"

Azula spun around to answer. "_Long Feng_ killed the Earth King!"

The crowd grew even louder, and Sokka was hyper-aware of the pillars of rock boxing everyone in together here. Once again, he drew his Boomerang. This was not going to go well-

Azula took a Firebending stance and punched a massive bloom of blue flame into the air above her head. The crowd quieted immediately, and Azula took advantage of the lull to shout, "If I wanted the Earth King dead, _no one would have known it was me!_ What's the point of bringing the wrath of the Earth Kingdom down on my head? Why would my master plan involve a slightly less experienced Earth King on the throne? I don't care if you don't believe me, _but you have to start thinking for yourselves!_ Call me a liar if you want, but Long Feng is a liar, too. Do what you came to do and choose for yourselves."

Sokka pushed through the White Lotus and grabbed Azula's shoulder. He hissed, "What are you doing?"

Azula didn't even give him the consideration of a glance, keeping her gaze traveling across the crowds. "My best," she hissed back. "Now, I think it's time we hurry on to Yu Dao."

"Yeah. Right." Sokka motioned to the lead Lotus Guard, and the whole procession got moving again. The crowd's muttering picked up again, but no one attacked again. Once they were a distance down the road, Sokka motioned back, and the two Earthbender Lotus let the rock-thrower free and hurried back to join the procession. This was just the start to the troubles Yu Dao would offer. Everyone would be lining up to stone Azula to death, and Sokka didn't even know how to defend her, never mind succeed at it. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to fight his own friends at the same time. Hopefully, Azula would let him help.

Forever and a day later, the procession passed through the front gates of the city, and started making its way to the Convocation Center.

* * *

They set up a War Room in the cavern Long Feng had intended to be his receiving parlor. With Shingyung gone, responsibilities would have to be shifted, and Long Feng need to reestablish contact with his various political and business contacts around the colonies. He was just briefing his team of analysts when one of the runners he had bringing news from Yu Dao topside burst into the room. "Long Feng, sir!"

"Just a minute, gentlemen." He turned to the runner and clasped his hands behind his back. "You have urgent news, I take it?"

"Sir, _Princess Azula just entered the city._ She's in the custody of the White Lotus."

The cavern spun around Long Feng briefly, but when it settled again, the crystal lamps seemed to glow even brighter than before, and he felt like he could see more clearly than he had been able to for a long time. "Well. That makes things much simpler."

* * *

Azula's guards guided her deep into Yu Dao's residential sector, to the 'rich' section, if the overtly Fire Nation architectural flourishes were any clue. Yu Dao might have been founded as a glorified camp for the Earthbender miners looking to make their fortune, but it was the Fire Nation and its colonists that had built the place up into a thriving city and the best source of metalwork in the entire colonized Earth Kingdom. The price of that, of course, was that the people of Fire Nation descent had implemented a rock solid caste system that kept them on top, both socially and economically. While it was possible for some of the Earth Kingdom descendants to 'marry up' or otherwise earn an exception, Aang and Zuko were still trying to break down the systematic oppression as the price for giving Yu Dao its freedom. At least, that was last Azula had heard as Suki.

Yu Dao alone amongst the Independent Former Colonies had merited that attention, and from what Azula could see, it still had a way to go. It would be hard to argue that Yu Dao was truly worse in this respect than Yang City, or any of the other places Azula had seen on her travels this last year, but it at least kept up a veneer of civilization and showed the world a face that consisted of solid buildings, nice streets, and clean workshops. Of all the places the Avatar and the Fire Lord could direct their efforts, they most likely had the best chance of succeeding here. It made Azula wish she were free to turn her own attention to the wider problem, but there was no time for that now. And, judging from the busy weaponsmiths she had passed, the situation would require a careful and subtle handling.

It struck Azula how odd her thoughts were. Back when she was Suki, she was content to let her friends deal with the situation, providing assistance and occasionally a little muscle when asked. Now, she fantasized about taking charge and doing an even better job the world's leaders.

Truly, Suki was dead.

At last, the procession stopped in front of a three-story house that, had it not been for the red Fire Nation-style roof, wouldn't have looked out of place in Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring. A white cloth hung from the second-floor balcony, waving in the wind not as a sign of surrender, but of allegiance. The lead Lotus Guard turned to Azula and Sokka and said, "Mayor Morishita gave this house for our use. Warrior Ty Lee explained the situation, so it was decided that the Fire Princess could be held here in our sovereign custody. Your friends are waiting inside."

Azula took her gaze off the makeshift flag and raised her eyebrows. "And will I be in your 'custody' in a room, or a cell?"

She saw Sokka wince, but the older man kept a content expression that reminded her of Uncle Iroh. "A room, of course, but one that will reassure others of our diligence. We will ensure your comfort as long as we have your cooperation. We have already heard your story from our brothers in Ba Sing Se, and we are ready to help you as we are able."

"Well, hey, that's something," Sokka said, straightening his posture. "But we should get off the streets. You ready to meet everyone again?"

Azula gave him the flattest glare she could manage. "That must be the most pointless question ever spoken. Let's get this over with, hm?"

* * *

They could have been any two men in the encampments. Their clothes were red, but threadbare, and the dust of the roads muted both the color of their allegiance and the features of their faces. The first man approached the second where he was sitting outside his tent, and said, "White smoke."

"Black smoke," was the reply.

"Wet wood."

"Coal." The man sitting outside his tent nodded. "What news?"

The visitor lowered his voice. "The Princess Azula. She's here."

"_Here?_"

"She marched right into the city, with an honor guard in blue and white robes."

"Water Tribe?"

"Don't think so. They had Earthbenders _and_ Firebenders. Most had weapons, though, so I couldn't tell about them."

"Huh. So what do we do?"

"Spread the word and wait. Our Princess is here, she'll make sure things are done right."

"The Sword of the Agni Warrior comes."

"One way or another."

* * *

They were all standing, waiting for her. Aang, Katara, Zuko, Mai, Toph, Ty Lee; they were arrayed around the room, all standing, with a chaotic rigidity that turned the air sharp. Azula stepped into the receiving room with her boots clacking on the stone floor, a bit of quiet thunder to match the electric atmosphere. Needing a release, she snapped to a halt, put her hands on her hips, and passed a frigid look across her audience. "You are in the presence of a Princess of the Fire Nation. All the peasants in this room should be bowing, now. Make it quick and I will forgive your breach of etiquette." Their faces tightened, and Azula finally released her smirk. "Relax, everyone! It was a joke. Do you like my Azula impersonation? I've been working on it for a while."

The cruel levity bounced off the prevailing mood like rubber.

Eventually, Toph said, "Yeah. Good one."

Azula plopped herself down in one of the unused couches. "Perhaps the joke was in poor taste. But if we take the time for due apologies, then we'll be here until Long Feng takes over the world." She almost expected protests to that, more protestations that 'Suki' had been for her own good like Sokka had provided, but there was just more awkward shifting. "Ah, I see Ty Lee has already shared my thoughts. That's good. It will let us cut to the chase."

Zuko, resplendent in full Fire Lord robes, finally took a step forward and met her eyes with his own lopsided glare. "We appreciate your surrendering, and we... understand the deal you and Sokka are hoping to make work. But you have to understand that here, in this city right now, are both the Earth King and all the leaders of the Former Colonies. And they all want you put on trial, at the very least. We can't protect you after... after everything you've done."

"Well, at least you're finally being honest with me. And what is it I've done? Are we just talking about Kyoshi Island and Ba Sing Se, or are we adding the woman I just murdered in Yang City to the list?"

Everyone blanched, and Sokka immediately stepped in front of her with waving hands. "It's okay, it's okay, it was someone working for Long Feng and she killed a friend of Azula's, or something like that. There was a fight."

Azula stood up and shoved him out of the way. "Shingyung was managing the duplicates that Long Feng has been creating of me, directing them in their terrorism. She was the one who masterminded that factory bombing in Yang City. She left- she killed- Sokka told me about how you found Mianju- saw her skull- and I... yes, I _killed_ Shingyung for that." Azula's legs started to feel a bit weak, so she sat down again. It must have been because she hadn't been eating or sleeping much on the airship. Yes, that was probably it.

Into the resulting silence, Sokka said, "Actually, I don't have a problem if bad guys who deserve it die in a fight. I still think it wasn't a bad idea to take out Ozai."

Azula nodded at him. "Thank you, Sokka. Now, please stop speaking for me."

"We're not here to judge you," Aang said, taking a long look around at everyone. When no one objected, he gave a small smile. "The most important thing right now is to keep Long Feng from hurting anyone else. Yes, Azula, you're an issue, and you just being here is probably going to make the whole colonies thing crazier. But Long Feng is doing the same thing on purpose. First we have to take care of the people. Then we can worry about nations."

Azula smiled back, although it took an effort. "Thank you, Aa- Avatar Aang. The main thing you need to know, then, is that most of the colonial governors are taking Long Feng's direct orders. You're already negotiating with the enemy. Their plan is to unite the colonies into a new nation, and then they'll make Long Feng the enforcer of all their laws. He'll run the secret police for a whole country, and rule everything by determining which laws to enforce and how to do it."

"Do you," Katara said, "happen to have proof of this?"

"Why, you don't believe me?"

Katara hesitated just a moment too long. "I believe you. But we can't do anything without proof."

Azula leaned back, and her smile became genuine. "As it happens, I _do_ have proof. My friends and I attacked a base in Geum Gwuang that one of Long Feng's old Dai Li agents was managing for him. We captured all kinds of wonderful records about who was receiving bribes, the dates of all communications, and useful blackmail material."

Sokka's jaw dropped. "You didn't tell me that!"

"It didn't come up."

Zuko said, "So where are these records?"

"My allies are bringing them here as we speak. That's the tricky part. We stored all the records somewhere safe, and when I found Sokka in Yang City, I sent word that I needed everything delivered to me here. I don't know the names myself, not all of them."

Sokka tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So, we need to stall things until we can present those records. After that, we blow the whole thing wide open, and arrest all the bad guys."

"It's not _proof_ proof," Aang said, "but with enough information, we can convince the good governors to break with the bad ones, and make sure that Long Feng's plan fails!"

"And then it will be a military matter." Zuko nodded grimly. "If the other governors give us permission, we can finally send our militaries into the colonies to establish peace and remove corruption."

Azula frowned. "And so you take away the freedom that you gave the colonies in the first place?"

"They can keep their freedom," Zuko growled, "but they obviously need an intervention of some kind if they're going to survive. This will be the best way to give the colonies a solid foundation on which to build a new country."

Azula couldn't keep the frost out of her voice. "Is that what you said when you ripped my mind apart and dressed me up like a Kyoshi Warrior? Was Suki a solid foundation to make yourself a trusty new bodyguard?"

"Ooh," hissed Toph. "Awkward."

Zuko's hands balled into fists, and his body shifted into something that looked like a Firebending stance beneath his layers of robes. "Is that why _you_ burned down Kyoshi Island?! I told them they'd be safe!"

Azula was up on her feet in an instant. "Then you lied to them, too! Go ahead and turn me over to the Earth King for what I did, but who do _you_ have to answer to?" She found herself breathing heavily, and realized she was losing control. Was this justifiable anger, or because this was an intrinsic part of her relationship with Z- with her brother? Her brother. Azula could barely comprehend having a sibling, of growing up with someone like that. Suki had been friends with Zuko, had found him to be sympathetic and admirable both, but according to the histories, Azula had tried to kill him any number of times. Sighing, Azula forced herself to relax. "Never mind. Like I told Sokka, we're allies. We can worry about fighting each other after Long Feng has been stopped."

"Yeah," Sokka said quickly. "We can work things out. You guys agreed to give Azula to the Earth King, but you didn't say _when._ As long as she stays here and we need her to get Long Feng, he can't make trouble. And then when we have all our proofs and things are safe, we can make it all up to Azula by helping her with what comes after."

Azula frowned. 'Make it all up' to her? Did Sokka- did they all think they could just forget about _breaking her_ by covering for her mistakes? Didn't they understand anything about her, about everything that had happened? She looked around, and found herself at the eye of a storm of pensive expressions. Perhaps they weren't all as unified as they pretended. Sokka wasn't even unified with himself.

Aang cleared his throat. "Well, now that we have the beginning of a plan, I need to get to work. I'll tell the Earth King what's going on and that he'll have to wait. Then Zuko and I bring this to the convocation's attention. We'll talk again later."

Azula nodded. "In the meantime, I suppose I should see if I'm being given a room or a cell." Toph barked a laugh at that, and Azula shook her head. "That one wasn't a joke."

"I'll go with you," Zuko said suddenly. "We have some things we need to say to each other."

* * *

They had indeed given her a well appointed room. Too bad it was in the basement.

Granted, it was a very nice basement. The decorations, cabinets, and plush bed almost completely distracted from the cold stone walls. There was even a desk stocked with brushes, paper, and ink. For all that, there was no overwhelming level of detail or gaudiness like Azula had seen in Ba Sing Se. She assumed that was the influence of the White Lotus. It recalled Uncle Iroh's living quarters above his teashop, and it almost made Azula feel safe. She wasn't, of course, but it was better than trusting in the others, and they obviously didn't fully trust her. But then, Azula was something of a liar, and she wasn't being entirely forthcoming with them, either. With that thought, Azula turned face Zuko behind her, but then saw Mai leaning against the wall over by the staircase. "I thought Zuko wanted a private conversation. Don't you trust me not to kill him?"

"No," Mai said flatly. "This whole 'Suki' business never really mattered much to me."

Azula recalled how Mai would always seek her out, during those visits to Uncle Iroh's teashop, and engage her in Pai Sho games, pleasant chats, and even casual sparring. "So, our 'friendship' was... what, keeping your friends close but your enemies closer? How strategic of you."

Mai's shrug was almost invisible. "I learned from the best, and since that's who I was up against, I couldn't hold back. It was just about protecting the people I care for. If that meant killing you, oh well."

Azula found herself smiling. "Can I just say how much I appreciate both your honesty and apathy?"

Mai's lips quirked. "You always did."

Zuko looked back and forth between them, as if trying to see what was being left unsaid, before he gave in to his confusion and let it out with a sigh. "Of course I'm the one in the wrong for caring about you and trying to save you. Did you want to be asked permission? Because that wouldn't have been easy with you not even knowing your own name."

Azula shook her head. "You're not wrong for caring, but there has to be a line somewhere. You _wiped your sister out_. She's gone. Whatever benevolence you thought you were demonstrating, you still eliminated a rival who had tried to kill you and replaced her with a girl you used as a _guard_." Azula found that she was clenching her fists, but she embraced the motion, as well as the Fire springing to life in her heart. "Sokka said that you promised to leave me alone on Kyoshi Island, but as soon as you had a use for me, you manipulated me and let me think I was helping a friend! Yes, Zuko, you cared about me _so much_ that you turned me into your favorite tool! _Thanks!_"

Zuko stomped closer to her, his face coloring in a way that almost matched his scar. "I didn't have a choice! I had assassins coming after me every other day! They were walking right through my security and _every time_ we investigated we found someone else on my staff who was trying to help kill me. I couldn't trust anyone, except for Aang and the others, but they couldn't stay and protect me. I didn't pick you out as a tool, I asked for your help because for once in my life I actually felt like I could trust you! I believed that you would be able to help." Zuko stopped there, taking deep breaths, and when he spoke again, his voice came slower and calmer. "It was hard pretending that you were just my friend, that we weren't family. Before Suki, you could be so awful that sometimes I forgot that I loved you. I didn't have the strength to... to keep my anger from... _clouding_ that. We both did."

Azula shook her head at him. "Irrelevant. I can't apologize for what I did, because I don't remember it. And you can't apologize, because I don't know enough to really forgive you. If you were hoping for that chance someday, you ruined it when you handed me over to Dong Min. Congratulations on winning."

"It doesn't matter." Zuko stopped there, nodded, and repeated, "It doesn't matter. As Suki, you were everything I had always hoped you could be. You ran the palace security better than anyone else, even back when Father was still Fire Lord. You protected me, saved my life, and then we worked together to get to Yu Dao in time to help Aang save it. I was happy that you had finally unlocked your true potential. Happy _for_ you."

Azula felt a headache coming on. Why was it always the same song from these people? "Zuko," she groaned, "you saw what you wanted to see. I didn't find my true potential, I found _your idea_ of it. You had an identity in mind... a vision of your ideal sister, and I was forced into that. Maybe you didn't do it purposefully, maybe you weren't even directly involved, but the result was still just your concept of what you wanted me to be." She finally unclenched her fists, and motioned above her, the gesture meant to evoke the lands that sprawled above them. "What I've been doing since I escaped Ba Sing Se, _that's_ my true potential. I've gone into a land you abandoned to chaos and I've established order. I've stopped criminals from hurting people and turned them into my servants! I've inspired people and gave them a symbol they can follow to a better future! And yes, I've killed people who needed to be stopped. You may not like what I am, you may not want someone like me as your sister, but reality doesn't care if you want it. I'm so much more than I was as Suki, and you can't deny me that."

"I'm not even going to try." Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, and turned away from her. "Sometimes I think that we were never meant to get along, that we were somehow always destined to be at odds, even if we aren't enemies."

Azula snorted. "And that's why we always are. Believing in Destiny is just another way of trying to see the world on your own terms."

"Well, I'm glad you're alive, and that we are- at least- not enemies. I'm honor-bound to turn you over to the Earth King once this is over, but I'll do whatever you'll let me to help you."

"Forget about helping. Just don't mourn for me, when I'm gone."

Zuko looked over in surprise at her, but Azula mastered her expression and made sure she gave nothing away. Eventually, he just shook his head and walked away. His path took him past Mai as he began ascending the stairs, and as usual, the dour woman fell into step behind her Fire Lord. She had no sooner put a foot down on the stairs, though, before Mai stopped and turned back towards Azula. "Fair warning: Mess with any of us and I'll drop you."

"I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye, Mai."

* * *

Sokka had taken a seat at the periphery of the main conclave room, and he couldn't help but stare in awe at the chamber. He had been here before, when his friends and the Major of Yu Dao had met and signed a paper that officially awarded the colony its independence. That had been a crazy "adventure," with Aang, Zuko, and Sokka juggling the rival interests of the Earth Kingdom, the parts of the Fire Nation that wouldn't just fall into line at Zuko's word, and the colonists themselves (whose independent streak Sokka could appreciate but not their decidedly less than graceful way of responding to the situation). At the time, Sokka had barely taken notice of the fancy meeting room, other than noting that it looked exactly like every other fancy meeting room he had ever seen, and also confirming that it contained no hidden assassins.

The people of Yu Dao had done some renovations since then. They enlarged the room by several orders of magnitude, so that Sokka felt like he was back outside the city, dwarfed by pillars of mountain stone. What had once merely been a large meeting room was now more like the biggest Earth Rumble arena in the world, except instead of an area there were a series of arch-like tables in the center of the main floor, forming a broken circle probably meant to be symbolic of something. The Earthbender architects had done a good job. Sitting in the audience section surrounded by people from all over the colonists, Sokka couldn't even see the seams of their work.

But he was letting himself get distracted. Probably because he could only listen to this story so many times.

"..and Princess Azula is offering proof of her accusations," Aang said to the assembled Governors, Mayors, citizen audience, Earth King, and Fire Lord. "We're awaiting delivery now. At that point, we'll know who is part of Long Feng's conspiracy, and then we can move forward these negotiations."

The audience around Sokka buzzed, and he was hard-pressed to say whether it was a good buzz or a bad buzz. The guy to his left muttered something about living in a tent for another few weeks in a way that sounded decidedly grumpy to Sokka, but otherwise there was too much noise for him to make out specifics.

One of the Governors- Sokka didn't know his name- stood up and struck a pose so dignified he must have practiced it in a mirror. "And you expect us to believe this mysterious evidence that is no doubt being fabricated as we speak? Obviously, this is a naked attempt to sabotage the process of raising a new nation for the people of the Former Independent Colonies, and also deny the Earth King his rightful due process for the criminal death of his predecessor."

Sokka saw the Earth King nod once, and the Governor Guy smiled and sat down. The Earth King then stood, and when he spoke, his voice carried easily throughout the entire massive room. "I thank the Governor for his insights and concern for my nation. It is good to know that even though your colony refused to return to my control, we still have mutual respect, and can work together against our true enemies." The Earth King turned to where Zuko and Aang were sitting, and Sokka felt a ball of ice form in his stomach. "Now," the King continued, "I have one question that I want answered before this assembly."

He turned back to the Governor who had spoken, and said, "Sir, are you currently, or have you ever been, working with Long Feng?"

It took the Governor Guy a moment to realize he was being addressed. "Er, what?"

"It is a simple question. Forget proofs of who did what and whether there is some unlikely secret conspiracy at work. Did you intend to employ Long Feng in the colonies' new central government, or not?"

"...er, I want to state for the record, that Long Feng is not a criminal here in the colonies, and there is some confusion about the role he played in the fall of Ba Sing Se-"

"I thought as much," the Earth King said with ringing finality. He made a show of looking across at all the governors. "Your colleague, of course, is correct. Here in the colonies, you are free to employ whoever you want. And Azula is likely lying. But, considering Long Feng's history, I think it my responsibility to make sure you do not enter unwittingly into an alliance with a dangerous man. Let Long Feng appear here himself to answer the charges against him. Then we will together decide what to do. I support Avatar Aang's motion for a hiatus until we have the information we need to rule on this matter."

Zuko immediately stood up. "I stand with the Avatar and the Earth King."

Sokka watched the governors carefully. Most kept their faces blank, but some looked very confused by everything that was going on, while others couldn't contain their grimaces. None of this was proof of guilt, of course, but it was enough for Sokka to conclude that there was a mix of guilty and innocent amongst the leaders.

Finally, rising from a seat off to the side that Sokka had been ignoring up until now, Mayor Morishita stepped into the center of the circle formed by the tables. "My friends, I propose a compromise. Both Long Feng and Princess Azula are purporting to be friends to the colonies, while the established nations have understandable concerns about- at the very least- their motivations for their actions. Perhaps it would be most productive to conduct an investigative hearing, as a part of these negotiations and so presided over by myself. Let Long Feng and Azula both come with their proofs, and answer to this committee. Let them both give their sides of the story, and then we can decide once we have all the relevant information. Until then, we can recess and conduct whatever individual investigations we see fit. Although I only intended to host this conference, I would be willing to act as arbiter in this matter, if you will all accept my services."

Aang nodded happily, and Zuko followed with an epic nod of his own. The Earth King made a hand motion that was apparently some kind of positive, and after a round of whispered consultations, the talkative Governor stood up and said, "We accept as well. Thank you, Mayor."

Sokka smiled with satisfaction as the crowd around him gave their tepid applause. Even though his daughter had tried to assassinate Zuko with the pretty confused intention of somehow saving Yu Dao from Earth Kingdom control, and the Mayor himself had been a little too happy with the Fire Nation and the war, Morishita was at least an honorable guy who everyone could trust.

This would work out well.

* * *

Things had been so maddeningly boring that Azula was almost grateful for Sokka and Aang's late-night visit. "They accepted it," Sokka said as he ambled down the stairs. "When your messenger gets here with the records, you and Long Feng will have a chance to discuss everything with the council in public. If Long Feng doesn't show up, we win, and if he does, we still win because _someone_ around here will take him out no matter how convincing he is with his lies."

Azula refrained from mentioning that she might very well decide to just light Long Feng's face on fire if they let her into the same room with him. Politics were nice, but in Azula's opinion, Sokka and his friends were too focused on the political aspect when a much more direct solution presented itself. That was the problem with being a leader from the outside, she supposed. Maintaining legitimacy was just as much a concern as actually solving the problems plaguing the nation. Or was Azula herself the one with a skewed sense of the world? She supposed that she might look just as strange to everyone else, whipping together an army of criminals and malcontents and simply killing all those who presented themselves as enemies.

It was an issue Azula was willing to ponder after Long Feng was dead.

"You didn't mention the Earth King," Azula said. "I doubt he was happy at not being allowed to take custody of me right away."

Aang groaned as he came stepped off the stairs behind Sokka. "Zuko is talking to him about it now. They might be a while. Still, I think he's okay with making Long Feng a priority, and it looks like he accepted that we need you free to do it in a way that the colonies will be okay with."

Sokka nodded. "As for me, I'm just staying clear of him for a while."

Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And so you decide to inflict your presence on me, instead."

Sokka's eyes widened, and then he let loose a sigh and turned away. Azula felt a chill pass over her, but she made herself remember that she had to stay independent of him.

Aang glanced over at Sokka, but returned his attention to Azula. "Actually, I wanted to a chance to speak with you, and figured that Sokka could come along and help explain the meeting. I hope that's not a problem?"

"It's fine, Aa- Avatar. We're all allies, after all. What did you need?"

Aang bowed low. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. Sokka and Zuko told me about everything you said to them, and I realized I needed to give you my apologies. I shouldn't have supported the idea to make you Suki, and since my taking your Firebending away in the first place caused all the trouble, I have a strong responsibility. I should have left you alone, left your Firebending alone, so that Zuko could get you help you really needed."

Azula blinked, trying to reconcile the people in front of her with what she just heard. Her ears were filled with a roaring, and for a moment she thought Aang must have been using his Airbending to make some kind of wind, but no, it must have just been the blood rushing inside of her own body. "Was that- was that an unconditional apology?"

"Yup!" Aang straightened and smiled at her. "You don't have to accept, but I needed to say it."

Azula put a hand to her head. "I'll defer making a decision about that now. Although..."

"Yes?"

She straightened, and looked Aang right in the eyes. "How _did_ I get my Firebending back? And, did my Uncle tell you about my difficulties with the blue color?"

"Yeah. We talked about it for a little while. I don't know for sure, but I've been thinking about it, and- well, I think 'Suki' was more real than we expected. I touched your Qi to take your Firebending, but the process of creating Suki... I think it healed you, or you used it to heal yourself. Your Qi changed. Maybe not to quite what it was, before, but... not worse, either. Just different. And you needed to learn how to use it. Does that make sense? I'm not really very smart about this stuff yet, I'm just trying to piece it all together."

Azula supposed that she would never really know the truth behind, but- here, now- she found that it really didn't matter. She was Azula. She was a Firebender. And she no longer doubted that she could rely on herself. "It's as good an explanation as any. Thank you for it."

"No problem." Aang bowed again. "It's pretty late, so we should probably get going. Maybe tomorrow I can show you some meditations that are good for keeping your body and mind in harmony. We'll have some time to practice them. Good night!"

Azula watched the Avatar go, and then finally turned to Sokka. He stared back forlornly. "I'm trying," he said.

Azula nodded. "And I'm still counting on you. Me, and the rest of the world."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	28. The Fire Rises

**The Fire Rises**

Azula floated at the center of two opposing forces, suspended perfectly between them by their complementary gravities. The energies they emitted danced over her skin, reaching within to her heart and her Qi and her drive to impose her will on the physical world.

It was bliss.

Azula opened her eyes and looked over at Aang. "How was that?"

"Perfect." He smiled broadly at her. "You're getting better at achieving that state. If we had more time to practice, I bet you'd be able to get there on your own really soon."

"As nice as that sounds, I think I would prefer to stop Long Feng first. " Azula unfolded from her Lotus Position to stand and stretched her limbs beneath her armor. She didn't need its protection here in her basement apartment of the White Lotus residence, but today was going to be her 'public debut,' so to speak, and she expected that the protection of leather and metal would be necessary. "My personal growth can wait until after we've saved the world." Aang took on a pensive expression, and Azula found herself frowning in return. "Ah, yes. We won't be able to continue these little sessions once the Earth King has me, hm? That's the trouble with deals. Most people feel obligated to keep them."

It had been a nicer couple of weeks than Azula would have expected, living as a captive in all but name in Yu Dao. While they had waited for a messenger from Azula's rebel army to bring the records detailing all of Long Feng's financial dealings in setting up his conspiracy of conquest, Aang had visited Azula daily to teach her meditations and other exercises for achieving spiritual balance. It was nothing practical, but it at least was something into which she could channel her anxiety while planning for her final encounter with Long Feng. She had other visitors in that time; Sokka and Ty Lee also came to see her every day, bringing her scraps of news and discussing the details of how they hoped to turn the colonial governors against Long Feng. Those visits were a bit less comfortable than Aang's, but she could see how Sokka was trying his best to show her respect, and leave it up to her to define the tone of their alliance.

Azula had decided to play it cool, and she could see that it distressed Sokka.

But then, not as much as she heard it had distressed Zuko when she refused to accept his own visits.

Aang broke into Azula's musings with, "I want you to know, even though we do have to let the Earth King put you on trial for everything, none of us are going to abandon you. We'll help defend you, even if the worst happens."

Azula quirked an eyebrow. "Because you feel so guilty for what was done to me? Is everyone hoping to redeem themselves by saving me from the punishment my crimes have earned me?"

"Fair question." Aang's eyes lost focus, and he sat a little straighter in his Lotus Position. "I can't speak for everyone, but I'm just trying to do the right thing and make sure you're treated fairly. But... there's something else. All of this with you, and the colonies, and what you've made us realize about how we treated you... it's connected, somehow. I get the feeling that I can learn something from it all that's really important to my Avatar duties."

Azula's lip twisted of its own accord. "How to raise an army and conquer the colonies through sheer force of will?"

Aang didn't even blink at that. "Not exactly. It's something... something focused, something that's the key to unlocking the new nature of the world. I'm not sure what it is yet..." His voice trailed off, and he seemed oblivious to Azula's presence.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs brought him back to reality, and Azula stiffened at the sight of her latest guests. Sokka and Ty Lee descended the staircase into the little basement apartment, the former looking at Aang with his own thoughtful expression. "Interesting idea," Sokka said. "That's something we'll have to think about. I already know the mistakes I made in pushing for Azula- I mean 'you,' sorry for talking about you like you weren't here- and I'm not, you know, implying that I have all the answers now or that I'm perfect or trying to diminish your thoughts- sorry if I'm being patronizing, I don't mean to- um-"

Azula cut him off with a groan. "Please stop talking. This can only get more awkward, and already I want to burn a hole in the ceiling and run away."

"Right. Sorry." Sokka glanced over at Ty Lee, and then looked back to Aang and Azula. "Anyway, we came to let you know that they're ready for us in the Convocation Center. Azula's captured records have been moved over, and they want us all safely in the building before they let the crowds into the audience seating."

Azula found herself tapping her chin as she tried to analyze the situation. "This is strange. I honestly didn't expect Long Feng to let things get this far. Any further word from him?"

Sokka shook his head. "The latest was still the tip Mayor Morishita's office got that Long Feng would present himself at the city's gate today to be taken into custody."

"Hm." Long Feng was not playing according to what Azula had expected his most likely course of action to be. She thought he would perhaps try to kill her, stuck here in the White Lotus' basement, or maybe wait for the evidence against him to be delivered and then strike to either recapture the documents or destroy them. What was he playing at by going along with this show trial? "Well, whatever is going on, we can count on Long Feng to be running another con. Whether he strikes at us physically, or has something planned for the hearing, we have to be ready for a surprise. Keep trust to a minimum."

Sokka nodded. "We're all going over to the Convocation Center on Appa, but the Mayor asked the White Lotus to bring you in separately, to avoid things looking like we're all in this together. I'm going to be hanging back and playing shadow guard while everyone else gets set up for the trial, just in case."

"Good idea. But I don't think I should go in alone." Azula turned to Ty Lee and looked the other girl- her former friend from two different lives- right in her big gray eyes. "Ty, please stay with me? I don't want to be alone today without anyone I really know. I can count on you, right?"

Ty Lee's lips quivered for a moment, but then her face hardened and she gave a grim smile. "I'll do anything to help you. I won't let you down."

Azula smiled back. "Excellent. Then it's time to put all the tiles into play."

* * *

Mayor Morishita marched down Yu Dao's main avenue at the center of a phalanx of soldiers in master-crafted Yu Dao armor, and came to a halt in the shadow of the city's main gate.

Once, Yu Dao's gate had been a simple affair. The city was surrounded by a stone wall supported internally with Fire Nation metal, and the entrance had been a set of double-doors made of rich red wood imported from another colony. Those doors had been closed only at night, and were otherwise supposed to be a welcoming sign of the prosperity of the Fire Nation colonies. That had been until the war ended, until the Avatar had arbitrated an agreement between the Earth King and the Fire Lord to return the colonies to the Earth Kingdom. Until Yu Dao's Fire Nation ruling class had risen up in rebellion. Until Earthbenders arrived at the walls, and hammered away at the simple wooden doors.

Yu Dao has nearly fallen, before the Avatar, the Earth King, and the Fire Lord had come to another agreement to give the colonies their independence. Yu Dao still had to pay a price for its rebellion, and for what the Avatar said was an unfair social ordering, but Mayor Morishita had thought that his biggest problems were over.

Then Long Feng visited almost immediately after Yu Dao's independence was recognized and explained Yu Dao's role in his grand plan, and afterward the Mayor had ordered a new gate constructed.

Morishita nodded to the Gatehouse, and the soldier on station within activated the hydraulics that had been built into the new, thicker wall. The doors of the gate were still wood, but now they were covered with thick metal shaped in Yu Dao itself, and as the hydraulic pressure was eased, they swung open with a heavy creak to reveal a single figure standing at ready. He was clad in traveler's robes, and when the doors shuddered to a halt, the figure pushed back his hood to reveal his face.

Mayor Morishita gave a short bow to Long Feng. "Thank you for surrendering yourself to answer for your crimes," he said loudly.

Beyond Long Feng, a crowd of gawkers waited and whispered, and Long Feng spoke his reply so that it could be heard by everyone nearby. "I have committed no crimes but for the sake of the people of the colonies. I come to shed the light of truth on the lies of the Fire Princess." He stepped forward, and the guards repositioned themselves so that they extended their perimeter around him. Once Long Feng was even with Morishita, the whole procession started moving back into the city, while the gates groaned closed again behind them.

As they walked, Long Feng leaned over and whispered, "Everything is ready?"

Morishita ignored the twisting in his guts. "Yes. The team is on station, and the device has been activated. I got the word from the staging point of the second wave that they are ready to go on your command."

"Excellent." Long Feng's smile was like an especially slimy spider-snake, eager to swallow everything caught in its web until it hung bloated and stretched at the center. He must have noticed Morishita's discomfort, as he said, "You have a concern?"

Calling them mere 'concerns' was a vast understatement. Morishita didn't even know how he was staying on his feet, never mind projecting a calm image. "This plan of yours... when it's done, I'll have... I'll have _nothing_..."

"You'll have your life, your family, and your name, Mayor, and none of those are small things. Your loyalty and cooperation will be remembered, and once I have re-established my power, you will be among the first to be rewarded. All you need is patience." Long Feng's eyes grew narrow, and he added, "And if you don't behave yourself, it will be easy enough to take away everything you hold dear. You know what I can do to a person's mind, that I can make them forget even their own name. I was gentle with your daughter's treatment, but that didn't stop her from going to the Fire Nation to assassinate Fire Lord Zuko on my command. I wasn't so gentle with the Earth Kingdom rebels who just so happened to arrive on your doorstep when the Fire Lord suspended the Harmony Restoration Movement, rebels who were last seen in the depths of my Ba Sing Se headquarters. You were almost surrounded with my handiwork as you struggled to hold on to your power and money while the entire world focused on your corrupt little colony and began considering that horrifying notion of 'independence' from-"

"_Enough,_" Mayor Morishita hissed. He glanced around to make sure that no one else had heard him, and then turned back to Long Feng. "I am, as ever," he said carefully, all too aware of the sweat beading his brow, "grateful for your advice and good will, Long Feng, sir. I was just nervous about the coming violence. My apologies."

"Quite all right, Mayor. This is going to be a busy day, after all. We mustn't let the stress get to us."

* * *

After the others had departed, several of the Lotus Guard came to collect Azula and bring her to the Convocation Center. As they stepped out into the shining sun- Ty Lee sticking close to Azula's side- she couldn't help but notice a certain background noise that seemed to resonate up through the ground to rattle her back teeth. "What is that- that vibrating?"

The lead Lotus Guard, an older man with bare feet and a bald head, said, "The new machine presses used by the craftsmen. They've been running more and more over the last month, presumably to help fill the demand for metal parts. I suspect they are running extra hard today as an excuse to keep many of the workers from taking off to watch the trial."

Azula tried to ignore the rattling, but found that it took quite a bit of willpower. "Must be especially annoying for Earthbenders."

"You have _no_ idea."

The Lotus Guard kept to side-streets, rather smartly hoping to avoid any large crowds. From what Azula had been told by Sokka over the last few weeks, things still hadn't calmed down after her arrival. She had idly wondered if something about her own Inner Fire being present in the city was resonating with the Firebenders who ran everything, but dismissed the idea as fantastically unlikely. It was probably just that a city which specialized in manufacturing weapons and parts for war machines was a poor place to hold high-tension negotiations meant to change the whole world order. Adding accused terrorists and a warmonger princess to the proceedings was just throwing grease on the already blazing fire.

The procession arrived at the Convocation Center without incident. The Lotus Guard led Azula and Ty Lee to a small side entrance set into the Center's outer wall, and the sounds of the crowd waiting to be let into the main building rose up in a cacophony that drowned out the vibrations of the weaponsmiths. The lead Lotus spoke with the guard at the gate, and then turned back to Azula and said, "As you can hear, they still haven't allowed the audience into the building. There is some delay in the setup. They want to bring you to a room underground where you can wait for the trial to begin in safety."

Azula frowned. "How long will that take? And what about Long Feng?"

The Lotus consulted the guard again, and then answered, "They say they will be letting the audience in within the hour, and the trial will begin within an hour after that. Long Feng is being held in a similar manner to you, on the opposite side of the Convocation Center."

Azula had a bad feeling about this whole thing, but without any evidence to go on, couldn't yet make trouble. "Very well. But I want Ty Lee to stay with me the whole time."

"Of course."

At Azula's right hand, Ty Lee shifted her weight from side to side, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. "They couldn't keep me away. But I'm glad everyone is being nice about it."

The guard at the wall stood aside, and the White Lotus escorted Azula and Ty Lee through an entrance that led into a set of stairs going down. Once again Azula was being stored underground like so much junk, and this time she couldn't shake the feeling that she was walking into an ambush.

* * *

Sokka couldn't help but think that the main conclave room was even more intimidating when it was empty.

Well, it wasn't _completely_ empty. Down on the main floor, the governors were assembled and talking impatiently amongst themselves. Aang, Zuko, Katara, and Toph were down there, too, looking over the records of Long Feng's bribe-paying and whatnot one more time before they gave their big presentation with Azula. The Earth King was at his own table with his advisors, and even though they were keeping quiet, it was plain from their frequent glances to the room's doors that they were getting fed up with all the waiting. Still, even with the main tables filled, the massive room was left mostly empty until the audiences were allowed in. Sokka prowled the stands and tried to keep an eye on everything at once, but it was hard without knowing what he was looking for. Maybe Azula was wrong, and Long Feng was going to play this one straight in hopes that his bribes and speeches had gotten him enough support?

No, Azula was smart, and had been dealing with Long Feng directly through some really hard times. Sokka trusted her, despite his fear of her.

Down on the main floor, there was a thump like wood bumping into stone, and Toph gave a little shriek. Sokka whipped his gaze down and over to find her clutching the toes of her right foot and leaning against the table she had just bumped. Her growl echoed through the whole chamber: "This is _so_ annoying. It's like they have one of those stupid machine presses running right here in the basement. I can't see _anything!_"

And with that, Sokka was overcome with a dawning sense of horror that perhaps he hadn't been paranoid _enough_. He drew his boomerang and tensed, sure that something was about to happen.

* * *

The room where they had stuffed Azula was tiny, dusty, and smelled like it had been a hiding place for corpses at some point in time. Ty Lee seemed to be turning a little green from it. The space was too small for Azula's entire retinue, so the Lotus Guard were left to take up a defensive position outside in the hallway while the two girls sat on opposite ends of a stained table and tried to think of something to say to each other.

Azula was starting to consider one of Aang's meditation techniques when the door finally swung open and a man in the blue and white robes of the White Lotus stepped inside.

"_Oh,_" Ty Lee gasped. Azula looked over at the acrobat just in time to see her run a nervous hand through her short hair, look down, and whisper, "His aura is so _mean_- orange and red in swirls of _brown_. I've never- not a White Lotus guy-"

"I see." Azula nodded, and stood up to greet the guest. "Is everything ready for us?"

The man in the White Lotus robe smiled. "It is, Princess. It's time to take you where you need to go."

Azula smiled back, and then broke into a punch that lit the man's robes into a conflagration of blue flame. Azula ignored the screams and grabbed his neck before his writhing could twist him too far away, and then shoved with all her might to send the blazing body out into the hallway like a bolt from a ballista. Cries of surprise and pain answered, and Azula knew she wouldn't have long before the men who produced them began to reorganize. She turned to Ty Lee and said, "You probably just saved my life. Long Feng has sprung his trap, and we're stuck in a basement with all of our enemies wearing the uniforms of allies. We need to get out. For now, let's assume they're trying to keep us out of the main conclave. We head for there. Are you ready?"

Ty Lee took in a long, shuddering breath, and when she let it out, her face tightened and her eyes focused with the intensity of the sun on a steaming summer day. Azula was momentarily taken aback by the harsh expression, and a flash of dream-like memory showed her a younger version of Ty Lee making the same face, deciding for the first time to hurt the world the same way it always tried to hurt her. "I'm ready."

"Then let's go."

Both girls rushed the door and came out fighting.

Azula barely had time to analyze. She divided every moving object in the stone hallway into three classifications- Ty Lee, bodies in blue standing up, and bodies in blue on the ground. There were a large number of bodies already on the ground who Azula assumed were her real Lotus Guard, while the ones standing up were mostly focused on the burning body she had thrown out of her room. Azula decided that those were all targets and began making with the fire. Her every step brought on a new attack- punches and kicks alternating with each other to bring her forward with each move. She had taken out only two of the targets before the others realized they were under attack and began defending themselves with stone pulled from the walls.

The walls were precise, made with perfect corners and no larger than they had to be.

Dai Li.

Or, at least, Dai Li-trained Earthbenders. Same difference.

Ty Lee sailed into the air above Azula's head, somehow managing not to collide with the low ceiling. She landed in a kind of crouching handstand atop one of the defensive pylons and used it to swing her feet straight into the Earthbender's head. Azula ducked low and waved a carpet of flames to stream down the center of the hallway and lick at everyone's feet, and then came up with another barrage of fireballs. There were more cries of pain, the unmistakable sound of Ty Lee's fists hammering into yielding flesh, and the movement of stone. Azula dodged around one flying rock, sidestepped a sheet of stone that sprung out on her left side, and grabbed at one of the Earthbenders to swing him head-first into the wall and then pound his chest with a flaming knee. The move spun her around, so she kicked backwards with a jet of flame that prompted another scream, and when she turned again the only person left standing was Ty Lee.

Azula nodded. "We keep moving. Quickly."

Ty Lee nodded back and raised her fists as she broke into a run down the hall.

* * *

Sokka was still tensed and ready when figures in dark suits fell from the ceiling.

He immediately threw himself behind one of the audience benches and thought he heard something whistle through the air right past him as he fell. The floor was stone and _no_ fun to make a hard landing on, but once he recovered his breath he heard cries and gasps coming from the main floor of the room. He recognized the voices.

Katara.

Aang.

Zuko.

Toph.

Other important guys.

Then there came the sound of feet landing hard on the floor. A male voice said, "We miss anyone?"

"There."

There was another whistle of air, followed by the thud of a body on the floor. "Got him."

"All clear. Lee, Earthbend us a platform for the bodies. Xiang, go get the snow savage's body from the stands. Keep it moving quickly, people. The concentrated shirshu venom will keep them out, but we have to make our connection."

That decided it for Sokka. He was just one guy with a boomerang up against a team of crazy ceiling-leapers armed with blowdarts (now that he knew what to look for, he saw the dart intended for him on the floor beside his head) coated in enough shirshu venom to knock him out on his feet. If he revealed himself and tried to fight, there were more than enough of them to keep him busy and flank him on both sides. He would be out cold just like his friends in minutes.

But those were his friends.

And these guys were apparently in a hurry.

Minutes might be enough.

Sokka stood up and threw his boomerang at the first head he saw.

He ducked back down as Boomerang spun through the air, and he was rewarded with the sound of whale bone impacting against human bone. There were immediate cries of "Up there!" and "The snow savage!" but Sokka ignored them and focused on his counting. At five, he reached his hand up and caught Boomerang on its return trip, and then immediately began scooting across the floor as quickly as he could without revealing himself. It didn't take long for him to hear footsteps rushing up the stands like they were stairs, and Sokka positioned himself so that he could intercept one of the attackers coming up on the left. The assassin guy passed right over Sokka without seeing him, and Sokka didn't hesitate to grab the man by his legs and yank him down. Sokka twisted and shoved the guy up against the nearest bench, and then grabbed the hood covering his head and proceeded to bounce said head against the stone floor a few times. When the body went limp, Sokka began extricating himself, but stopped when he bumped up against something the assassin had been wearing strapped to his side.

It was a scabbard.

Grinning, Sokka unsheathed the jian sword within and stood up.

Sure enough, the other assassins were already converging on him, and one immediately drew a blowpipe and breathed out a dart. Sokka whipped the sword across his body, keeping the flat out of the blade facing outward, and was rewarded with a victorious little 'tink' that meant he had successfully blocked the shot. He just wished Mai could have seen that. She still claimed that he had been cheating back when he knocked her knives out of the air when they were on opposite sides of the war.

Of course, blocking the blowdarts from the six other guys who were now taking aim was going to be a lot harder.

Like, _impossible_ hard.

Sokka took a defensive stance, drawing his favorite machete with his free hand. If he was going to go down, it wouldn't be while surrendering.

The assassins aimed-

-inhaled-

-and exploded into blue fire.

* * *

While Azula focused on punching out fireballs as fast as she could, Ty Lee took a flying leap that arced straight into the largest cluster of enemies. Several screams, thuds, and meaty punches later, Azula, Sokka, and Ty Lee were the only ones left standing in the rows of benches.

Sokka lowered his weapons and breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. "Woo. Thank you. I thought we were in real trouble there. You saved us all."

Azula looked around the conclave room, confirmed her earlier impression, and turned back to Sokka. "Us all who?"

Sokka blinked at her. "Everyone! You know, Aang, Zuko, the Earth..." He had turned his gaze over to the main floor, and was seeing exactly what Azula was: a few overturned tables, a big rectangular chunk of the floor missing, and no sign of life at all. "...King. _Slush_, they got away! Those guys in the black pajamas knocked everyone out with shirshu venom and are carting them away somewhere!"

Azula immediately began mapping factors in her head. Long Feng was kidnapping the leaders of the world. He hadn't taken them underground. Why not? Insufficient information for that, she had to move on. The trial had been delayed, the participants cut off from the crowds, and Azula herself isolated for her own unpleasant fate. That required someone with administrative influence over the conclave, to arrange things and get the assassins in position. That meant that Long Feng probably had full access to the building, so if he was kidnapping a large group of people, he would be making use of the most efficient facilities to move his victims out. "Quickly, is there something like a loading bay in this building?"

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "The guards must already have that covered."

"Forget the guards; they're probably in on it! I knew Long Feng was going to try something, but I miscalculated the scale of his plan. It's okay though, we're doing fine so far. We just have to catch up to him."

"Okay?!" Sokka's jaw fell, and he was reduced to making little gasping noises before he finally found his voice. "Long Feng just kidnapped the most important people in the world and we don't know where he went! How is that okay?!"

Azula walked right up to him and stuck her face so close to his that the tips of their noses were touching. "_Stop that._ I knew Long Feng would try something, and since I couldn't precisely anticipate his actions, I put you and Ty Lee into play as odd factors, friends who can help the same way I used help to defeat Shingyung. So far, that's working. Now, _focus and tell me the best room in this stupid building to load thirty to fifty bodies into a cart!_" She stepped back and crossed her arms over her armor.

Sokka blinked. "That's... um... the loading bay. Servants bring food and stuff in there for lunches and fancy parties." He blinked again, and his eyes lost focus. "The hallways leading back there can get pretty narrow, so he'll need to either make new passages or slow up, but I know some shortcut."

"Good. Now run."

They ran.

* * *

Long Feng walked into the loading bay just in time to see his soldiers load the last of the colonial governors into the tank. It had taken some work to get a tank of Fire Nation styling to be redesigned to carry cargo, then fully manufactured, and finally delivered here to Yu Dao, never mind all in the timeframe while Azula's allies waited for their 'evidence,' but that was the lovely thing about gold. It bought so much of other people's effort, so long as you knew where to spend it, and Long Feng's manufacturing contacts in Yang City were especially eager to prove their worth lately. Turning his attention to another useful servant, Long Feng found Mayor Morishita where he was supervising the loading and graced the politician with a smile. "Excellent work, Mayor. I see that everything is proceeding as scheduled."

The Mayor, however, did not reflect Long Feng's goodwill. "Er, there's a problem, sir. We got most of our targets, but our agents were chased off by Sokka Water Tribe and Azul-"

Long Feng drove his rock-covered, Bending-powered fist into Morishita's face just once, but after the Mayor's body crumpled to the ground, it did not rise again.

All movement in the loading bay ceased. Long Feng looked over at his agents, in the process of carrying Fire Lord Zuko into the tank's cargo bay, and flicked the blood off his glove. He had taken to wearing his old Dai Li weapons again, since he got the news about Shingyung. "My apologies, gentlemen, I was just taking care of a small staffing issue. Please, proceed, timing is very important to our-"

Then the door on the far side of the loading bay burst open with an explosion of blue flames.

Before the door was even finished bouncing across the stone ground, Long Feng was dashing for the tank. "Get the prisoners aboard, now! Rearguard formation!"

* * *

Azula went through the door first, and found herself at the center of a storm of fireballs and stones the size of her head. She punched a few fireballs of her own out towards the armored soldiers on the other side of the loading bay, but she didn't bother checking to see if they hit anything. That wasn't the point. Azula kept up a curving run that took her away from the door she had just blown open-

-_drawing the attacks of Long Feng's soldiers_-

-and back at the doorway, Sokka and Ty Lee slipped into the room. The first the enemy soldiers knew of their arrival was when Sokka's boomerang hit one of them in the face, and then both the Water Tribe swordsman and Ty Lee the Kyoshi Queen of Punching Things were amongst them. The soldiers, of course, quickly shifted their attention. That's when Azula went on the offensive. However, these soldiers were armored, so even with Azula's Firebending and Sokka's swordwork, the enemy didn't go down easily. It was Ty Lee who was the deciding factor. Even while Azula was batting orange fire out of the air and kicking back streams of blue fire, Ty Lee was twirling and cartwheeling through the fray, landing precise hits wherever armor gave way to meat.

The last of the soldiers went down with a panicked cry as Ty Lee's blow stole control of his limbs, and Azula turned-

-to find the loading bay empty, a trail of dirtied stone tiles showing the path where Long Feng's over-sized Fire Nation tank had apparently left during the fighting.

"Unagi breath," Azula hissed. She ran out through the large port into the shining sun, but there was no further sign of the vehicle in the little courtyard. The only sound she could make out was the distant buzz of the crowds still cordoned off in the Convocation Center's main courtyard, waiting to be let in for a show that wouldn't be happening. Long Feng must have taken his tank out and through one of the gates in the Center's outer wall. But how to find out where? She heard footsteps behind her, and turned to face Sokka and Ty Lee. "Long Feng got away. I think- I'm going to try following him. Maybe I can use my rocket-run technique to catch up with him if I stick to the main roads, but I'll have to find him quickly because I don't know if I can sustain- what are you doing?"

Sokka was rummaging in his belt, searching through the pouches for something. "I have a better idea," he said. "Remember how you told us to be ready for all kinds of craziness? Aha!" With a big smile, he pulled a small object out of his belt, and held it up in the sun.

It was a small wooden whistle, carved in the shape of a buffalo.

Azula smiled back at Sokka as he put the whistle to his lips and blew an inaudible call.

* * *

"There," Ty Lee shouted over the roar of the wind. She leaned over the edge of Appa's saddle, and pointed past the bulk of the flying Sky Bison to indicate movement down on the Yu Dao streets so far below.

Azula followed Ty Lee's pointing, and sure enough, there was the over-sized Fire Nation tank tearing down the street. "He's not making for the main gate. Maybe he's not trying to escape?"

Ty Lee opened her mouth to answer, but Sokka's voice cut through with a tone that immediately turned Azula's head: "Is something _burning_ over there?"

Azula crawled across the boat-like saddle to where Sokka was 'steering' Appa atop the beast's head, and looked down in the direction of his own gaze. Sure enough, smoke was rising. Azula continued to sweep her gaze down, trying to make out the source, and-

-was that _blue_ fire?

The building burned, pouring black smoke into the sky, but the fire that engulfed it, that danced over the whole structure, was like a thousand little pieces of the sky that had fallen down to terrorize the earth.

_Blue_ flames.

How?

Then Azula noticed another rising cloud of smoke. Then another. Then another.

"Yu Dao is burning," she whispered.

And all the fires were blue.

* * *

As the driver guided the tank as gracefully as possible over Yu Dao's streets, Long Feng leaned forward in his passenger seat to get a better look out the forward viewport. He spotted several rising clouds of black smoke, and nodded with satisfaction. Mayor Morishita might not have been completely dependable, but aside from Azula's survival, everything was working out so far. "You know the route you need to take?"

"Yessir," the driver said. "We're moving out towards the perimeter of the city, and then we'll circle around to our rendezvous. That will keep us away from the Terror Teams while they do their thing."

"Good work." Long Feng allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. On second thought, who cared if Azula survived? When Yu Dao was burned to the ground under azure flames, the people assembled out in the tent village would carry the tale to all corners of the world. Azula would once again become the most hated figure since Sozin. Perhaps worse. Meanwhile, Long Feng would take his prisoners and set up a new base somewhere isolated. While the world hunted Azula for him, he could 'reeducate' the Avatar, the Fire Lord, the Earth King, their friends, and all those other fools. They would emerge and return to their lives, confirming Azula's guilt to the world, and quietly introduce a new ally who would help bring order not just to the colonies, but to all the lands of the earth. Long Feng would need a new name, perhaps a change in appearance, just in case, but with the backing of such a prestigious group, he would still be able to achieve all his dreams.

Who needed the colonies anyway? In Long Feng's new world order, he could return them to both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. It would make ruling them easier. So much work had been put into the conspiracy, but it wasn't for nothing. Without the journey, Long Feng never would have come so far.

He would have to make a point of thanking Azula, if he saw her again before she died.

* * *

Once they knew where to look, it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on. The streets of Yu Dao were filling with people, all of them wearing the classic Firebender armor that had become the icon of the war and the rule of Fire Lord Ozai. The soldiers were attacking indiscriminately, tossing bombs of some kind into any nearby building to set it ablaze with blue fire. Those citizens who hadn't gone to the Convocation Center came out to defend their homes and businesses, but the soldiers were ready for them. Swords and spears were hefted, and war once more broke out, this time in the streets of the oldest and most supposedly civilized of the colonies.

Azula, Sokka, and Ty Lee looked down on it with identical sick expressions. Appa groaned as if in sympathy, and Azula shut her eyes against the tragedy. "This is my fault. He's doing this because of me."

She felt strong arms encircle her, and Azula opened her eyes to find Sokka holding her, looking into her eyes with a clear gaze. "It's _not_ your fault. We tried to stop him, and you-"

"I miscalculated," she said. "I didn't realize he would go this far. I suspected the Mayor was corrupt, but I didn't realize that he would let something like this happen." Azula hugged Sokka back, and then gave a heavy sigh and pulled away. "This is my responsibility. And I will make good on that. People will be hurt, but a miscalculation is not the end of the world. _I_ am." She stood, ignoring Ty Lee's oddly surprised expression, and settled into the most stable Firebending stance she could manage on the back of a flying Sky Bison. She crouched down, marshaled all of her grief and guilt and anger and _hate_ and poured those emotions into her Inner Fire. Then Azula sprang up, thrust a hand into the sky, and let it all out in the biggest burst of Firebending she had ever attempted.

The blue flames rose and exploded, filling the sky above Yu Dao. The inferno expanded to both Azula's left and right, almost like wings, while the core of the blaze continued to shoot upwards.

The shape, to those watching from outside the city, would almost look like a bird with massive beak and wings.

A bird made of fire.

* * *

The people had emerged from their tents when the first shouts of "Fire!" had broken out. Some watched in shock as the smoke and flames reached up above Yu Dao's outer wall, while others rushed to the city with the vague notion of somehow helping. Those people found the gate locked against them, and even when a group of Earthbenders worked together to raise and hammer away with a stone battering ram, the metal doors and metal-reinforced walls resisted all attempts to breach them.

Back at the tents, one man said to another, "Surely, it must be the work of the Fire Princess. But I thought she came to conquer, not burn?" And the reply was, "Fires burn only at her will."

Not far away, two women stepped away from their children for a moment to confer, trading comments of, "We have to get out of here before she can hurt our kids," and, "But where can we go that will be safe from her?"

In another place amidst the tent village, a man walked over to a woman with hair that was short enough to make her gender a tough guess, and said, "Is it time?" And the reply was, "We wait for the signal she described to me."

Then the phoenix rose above the city, a legendary icon clothed in azure for the first time in all of history. The short-haired woman said, "_There's_ the signal." And then she began shouting, "People of the colonies, _your Princess_ needs you!"

* * *

Sokka watched the bird of fire fade into the air, and decided that he was done trying to figure things out for the day. This was getting too confusing. So instead, he squeaked, "What are you doing now?"

Azula just shook her head at him. "You'll see. For now, we need to get the city's main gate open. Head for there."

"Why?"

"No time. Tell me how to get the gate open. I saw that there was something mechanical to it when I was first brought in."

Sokka stared at Azula for a moment, but things were moving too fast for him. He needed confirmation that he wasn't going insane. He looked over to Ty Lee, trying to figure out what question he wanted to ask her, but she just shrugged and said, "It's easiest to do what Azula says."

And, of course, she was right. He tugged Appa's reigns, steering the big guy over towards the city's main gate. "Okay. I trust you. The doors of the gate are governed by a hydraulic system. They put pressure on the doors to keep them shut. The metal casing protects them from damage, but the doors themselves are made of wood. The hydraulic pressure is enough to withstand some really heavy duty battering rams, and it's governed by a set of controls set directly into the wall. The City Watch are the ones who run that, and-"

"-and they're probably the first ones Long Feng subverted, if he's not just in control of the whole city," Azula finished. "So we have to take the controls and hope they're not sabotaged, or we could-" Her eyes went a little wide, and she gave a deep frown. "Yes, that should work. If I can get it right."

"Get what right?" With the gate directly below them, Sokka steered Appa into a spiraling descent.

"No time. I'll wait for you to catch up."

Even more confused, Sokka turned just in time to see Azula hop off the saddle into the empty air.

* * *

The rushing air battered at Azula, but she kept her body straight so that she would fall at maximum speed with minimum drift. Her stomach flipped and clenched and behaved in ways that did not make her feel good, but she kept her focus on the fall. Just another second...

Now!

Azula exhaled with all her lungpower, concentrating on her limbs, and strong jets of blue fire shot out of her fists and boots. The jolt shook her in the air, and Azula almost let the force tip her into a spin, but she angled her hands to stabilize her rotation, and she was able to stay upright.

Then the roof of the building she had been aiming for rose up to meet her, and Azula came to a hard, hammering stop that she felt in every single one of her bones.

Wow. That actually worked.

Now for the hard part.

It took an effort of will to ignore the world around her- Sokka and Ty Lee's calls, Appa's groan, the noise of the crowd on the opposite side of the gate, and the sounds (oh, the sounds) of Yu Dao being ransacked and burned to the ground. Azula had to shut out the stench of the burning buildings, the smoke on the wind, and the urgent need to _do something_. Yet, somehow, she managed. She forced it all away, and made her entire world into the glow of her Inner Fire, the rhythmic thumping of her heart, and the dance of Qi throughout her body. She breathed in and breathed out, a steady drumbeat to drive her march to the Void. The name was misleading, because for all that there was nothing in it, she was not alone in the Void.

Suki was there. Azula was there.

And She was there.

She would never be alone again, and that was the greatest of comforts as She pulled Suki and Azula away from each other. It took a strength She had never before called upon, a strength that had nothing to do with muscles and bones because Her body had no place in this Void. It was an effort of will, but also an effort of energy. She had to exert energy on the energies to separate the energies from each other. Contradictions like that were a part of what made the Void such an uneasy space. She held Suki and Azula back from each other, feeling as though She was holding the world up with Her hands, but the space between the two was no longer a Void. Energies escaped and crackled between the twin goddesses, streaming and building and joining together in an embrace that made many into one. She held Suki and Azula apart for as long as She could, letting the energy build up until She burned in its center, and then, finally, allowed Herself to rest.

Suki and Azula came crashing together, clasping hands and yanking each other into an embrace.

She was at the center, and when all of that energy had no place to go, She offered it a conduit.

A conduit to the physical world.

In that physical world, the woman who called herself Azula thrust an arm forward, pointed a pair of fingers at Yu Dao's gate, and-

-unleashed the lightning.

The doors were metal wrapped around wood. The metal drank the electricity like a flower in the desert, taking it all within where it found the wooden center. The wood did not take as kindly to the energy; it wanted to burn, but there was simply _too much_ to merely birth flames. This was full-on combustion, and it combusted with the force of the eternal relationship between Yin and Yang.

The doors were consumed, exploded from within, and crumbled to so much junk.

* * *

Sokka brought Appa down for a landing just as the scary, rampaging crowd began streaming through the space where Yu Dao's fancy gate _used_ to be. It was all the people, or at least a good chunk of them, from the tent village, being lead into the city by- were those the _Rough Rhinos_, riding an actual set of rhinos? And _Meisai_ was with them?!

Sokka looked over to Azula, who was watching it all, still smoking slightly from her Lightningbending, with an eerie calm that almost made it seem like she had been expecting all of this. When she finally turned her attention to Sokka, he found he had only one thing to say. "_What the slush?!_"

Azula regarded him, and the corners of her mouth shifted upward. "I brought an army."

"...of course you did."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


End file.
